Tim_Jan30-Feb13 (Thailand)

Jan 30
I woke up early in the morning to catch my plane to Bangkok. I was pretty exhausted from the weeks work and nights of partying. It was a bit of a race to this day and part of me was really glad to have made it.

Breakfast was eggs and that was going to be my last meal in America. It wasn’t the best but it had to due. Ana had said that the plane food was really bad and I had to make sure to eat something good before the seventeen hour flight.

I was wearing my old road cloths again and had my backpack on my back when my parents dropped me off at the airport again. There was a sad feeling in the pit of my stomach when I again said bye to my parents and headed to the check in counters. I was really tired of that feeling and tired of the idea of traveling. I didn’t really want to be headed on a plane again to a far away country but there I was again like I had been so many times before. I tried to look at the good things that were to come but all I seemed to see was the bad. I guess I was in a pretty funky mood. That seems to happen when I have to adjust to another new way of life. I was adjusting back to the traveler life again.

The flight turned out to be not too bad. I had a window seat and no one to the side of me which meant I could stretch my shoulders out. I was pretty tired when the plane took off I was pretty in the clouds before we hit the clouds.

The two Dramamine pills and a couple good movies helped me pass the first twelve or so hour leg of the trip. Sometime in the middle of the night we landed in Tai Pai and I transferred planes. That overall went pretty smooth and within minutes of taking off I was laying across four seats and back into the clouds again.

Sometime close to landing I woke up and realized I needed to sit upright and put my seat belt back on for landing. It was around 1:30am when the planes wheels screeched on the Bangkok’s runway and I was officially no longer in America.

The first things I noticed in getting off the plane was that the airport was different. See I had been to Bangkok briefly ten years before and the airport back then was pretty rough and unorganized. The airport I was in was organized, clean, and looked pretty new. That was a weird feeling and I was really curious to see how Bangkok and Thailand in general had changed in the last ten years. I’ve changed allot as well and I was curious to see how that played into things.

Of course there was the usual mad rush to get to the immigration lines once we got off the plane. No one was pushing or shoving but I did do a couple fast cutting off moves which seemed a little impolite. I had China in my blood and I was ready to fight. It was hard to get that feeling of wanting to shove old ladies out of the way out of my mind.

I made it to the line and tried my hardest to pick the shortest line with the fastest looking police officer at the helm. Of course I ended up with the young lazy officer that looked fast but in reality was slow as a turtle with short legs. My line ended up being the slowest and in the entire airport. But after incredible patience I got my stamp and was waiting in line for my backpack.

Once again I sat there with a disturbed tired look on my face hoping that the next bag coming out would be mine. After an entire 747’s worth of baggage coming out and crashing down onto the rotating luggage carousel there was still no olive green backpack with two large black straps. Where was my bag? Ana had lost here’s in the airport and had a bunch of trouble getting it. Was this my fate as well? Would this be the end of super hero Tim?

Nope. Sure enough after six hours of gut wrenching patience the conveyor belt turned on once again and my famous olive green bag slide out and was crushed by the oversized black luggage right behind it. Yeah. I grabbed it and headed out to the lobby to find Ana and Vane. They were supposed to be waiting there.

Sure enough I walked right by Vanessa without her even seeing me. I think she was checking out some old Thai guy or something. It was great to see her and I gave her a strong hug with my arms firmly at my side. See I had forgotten to put my deodorant in my small bag that I took on the plane and my pits were in full force. I don’t know what it is about the traveling that makes my pits go into hyper drive but they do. Nasty little traveling detail ehh. Did I tell you the one about my sphincter? Maybe I should keep that one to myself for now. But if you travel on planes for a long time don’t forget to bring a bandage, Tabasco sauce (Taco Bell packets work well), and a small one inch length of duck tape. Some people use regular scotch tape but I recommend duck tape.

After meeting Vane we went and grabbed Ana. It was so great to see her and it had been two weeks since she left. We had been on each others hip for about a year and it was wonderful to have her next to me again. I really love seeing Ana after a long period of time because I can see her fresh again like when I first met her. She is so beautiful and so king and when I saw her in the airport I was really present to those feelings. I love her with all my heart and being with her again somehow made life seem so easy and complete. She’s my little Latin firecracker.

We headed outside to grab a taxi to the airport. The first thing I noticed was there was no overwhelming heat, no six hundred million buzzing motorcycles, and no smell? Thailand always smelled. Where was I? Had it changed that much in ten years? It was definitely different and my mind tried to figure out what was going on. I wonder if I’ve just gotten used to bad smells and things like that or had Thailand changed? Where were the millions of buzzing scooters? Was I in the Twilight Zone. Dunna Nunna, Dunna Nunna, Dunna Nunna, Near Near Near!

I don’t know but the airport seemed too modern, too clean, and too organized. I walked with a careful step and tried to remember where I had put my large knife in my backpack.

We ended up waiting about ten minutes for the local bus which we took to a local station and transferred to another local bus. We were really local locos.

We arrived at the hostel 4:30am and crashed in a dorm room with a few other cats. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we hit the room. I grabbed my earplugs and eye cover and headed to the upper bunk. Falling asleep for me wasn’t hard at all even though my bed was made of concrete.











Feb 1
I woke up a few hours after falling asleep and couldn’t really stay in bed. The morning was just starting to become light and I had that sick feeling in my stomach. I continued to roll around and try to pretend I was sleeping for the next few hours. It was late in the day for my biological clock and I wanted to party not sit around on my concrete bed.

We all were a little off when we got up and decided we should start the day. We headed downstairs to have some yummy free breakfast. I couldn’t wait and was so excited to eat some more toast. I’d only eaten about half of the US grain crop that year and I was excited get my hands on some more.

With some more grain in my stomach we all headed out to see some of the temples in Bangkok. I was pretty unexcited about this since I had seen more temples than Buddha himself had seen in his life that year. But here we were on another train and long boat to go see more.

Too my surprise the first temple we visited was fabulous. Not fabulous like a straight guy would say but fabulous like a gay guy would say. They were great and the attention to detail was so much more advanced than anything I had seen in China or Mongolia. The Thai people had an eye for art and really understood how things work. They had something the Chinese people have never had – an eye for art. Nothing I had seen in China was as impressive as those temples. It’s funny how you can see a culture through the objects it makes. I could tell the Thai people were different. They had some kind of wiring in their brains that allowed them to make things that were as beautiful as many of the things I had seen in Europe. The temples were beautiful and I was glad be made the effort to see them.

We wandered around the first temple site for about two hours. Much of what they made was golf or mirrors. It was magnificent in the strong sun and gleamed like treasure. The detail on the doors, floors, statues was really impressive. The overall feeling of the temples was also very peaceful and serine. It was great and I think we got some really nice photos.

After the first temple we headed to the street to grab some food. We ended up walking about ten miles to find a place that both Ana and Vane wanted to eat at. But we found it and the food turned out to be pretty good. I had some fried rice with a shake. The shake had ice and milk in it so I was sure to start my stomach on the road to adjusting to the local bacteria. I just hoped I hadn’t thrown my stomach onto a fast moving freeway headed straight to diarrheaville.

After lunch we headed to a place I never though I would see again till I touched my feet on American soil. My temple of worship – 7-11. Sure enough they had 7-11’s in Thailand! I was so happy. I love this country. Thai people got it figured out. If I designed a country it would be just like Thailand.

As we opened the door of the first 7-ll I’ve seen outside the US I heard that familiar ring “Niiiiiigaaaaaaaaaaa”. No I’m not making a racial joke but that’s what it sounds like. I love that bell sound. Sure enough as I glided across the slick white fake marble floors there it was – a double dual carb ice crushing, quadruple ball bearing, four speed slurpee making machine in the corner. I couldn’t stop the sound from coming out of my lips “uuuuuggggghhhhhh”. I sounded like a porn star and didn’t care who heard me. It was a miracle more amazing than that parting the seas trick Moses did. It was there in front of me and I touched it to make sure it was real. Yes it was and it was ice cold. I grabbed my clear cup and began filling my cup like only a stone cold pro like me can. Full pressure right to the brim and at the last second I shut it off just in time to make a perfect shaped cone about three inches above the rim. No coke spilled as I smiled with delight. I bite into the cone of the slurpee sticking above the rim and it was beautiful. I was happy and at one with the universe.

Ana had to grab the taxi and guide us to the lying temple. I was too busy with my cup of heaven to worry about such simple human things like using a map and getting a taxi.

Filled with joy we bought our tickets to the lying Buddha temple and went inside. The Buddha sculpture was really impressive. It was a few hundred feet long and pure gold in color. It was massive and barely fit inside the building it was in. It was really impressive to see and having to take off your shoes to walk around it somehow added to the experience and made it that much more fun and impressive.

After the Buddha we headed back to the hostel. We were pretty tired and a bit sun scorched. It took over an hour to get back to the hostel since we had to grab a boat then transfer to the train. The distances in Bangkok seem really far. It seems like it takes an hour to go anywhere. I guess its king of like LA.

When we got to the hostel we decided to just go up to the top floor and chill for a little bit with a couple brews. It was a nice relaxing area and we sat and talked and read for the evening.

As is got late we grabbed one more brew and headed to the room. Vane was being a real lightweight and threw up after her first half a beer. What a wooosh. Just kidding her stomach was feeling off and I think the bubbly beer didn’t agree with her. Poor thing.

For some reason Ana was ready to party that night. That is unusual and I was sad that I was really tired from the day and trying to adjust to an almost opposite schedule. I think she’s getting a ready to become a mom and worried about not being able to drink for a while. Pretty funny.

In the end I had a couple with Ana and they were pretty strong. I was impressed. Not like the Colt 45’s I drink at home. I think we passed out sometime around 11:00pm.











Feb 2
I slept pretty rough that night. Not sure what’s going on. I think the whole time change things, the beers, and my sore hips from the concrete bed all were adding up. Either way I got an ok nights sleep and got the chance to watch the sun rise. In fact I checked if it was coming up for a few hours before it actually started coming up. Oh how I love changing my schedule.

Breakfast was a couple slices of pan integral and some homemade jam that wasn’t half bad. The first thing we did in the morning was take a forty five minute taxi ride to the Laos Embassy to get our visas. Since we were planning on entering Laos in a weird border up north we wanted to make sure we didn’t have any problems.

The ride to the embassy and getting our visas (forty dollars)was a snap. We also met a funny German guy in the process and decided to go with him to the local backpacker area for the evening. We had wanted to go to this area anyways to get some fake student ID’s anyway.

After a taxi ride, metro ride, and a local boat ride which turned out to be really interesting we made it to the backpacker’s area of town. We found the fake ID stand and within twenty minutes we had our ID’s. I was now back in school and ready to get discounts on all sorts of things.

We were able to get ride of our German friend and do a little shopping on the street. We found a nice purse for Vane and got some fried noodles from a local street vendor and some lovely cut up pineapple. It’s so funny that I feel so comfortable eating from street carts. It would be the same as eating bacon wrapped hot dogs from the vendors in Mexico. Man I’ve gotten tough. Watch now that I wrote that I’m going to get something. Hopefully the dookie god’s know I’m just joking. Maybe I’ll drop some more corn and peanuts on my poop alter for good luck later. Make sure things are cool between us.

After we were done with that area of town we caught a local bus back to our hostel. It took one and a half hours to get back. Can you believe that? Traffic sucks and the distances are far. Man Bangkok is a monster of a town. Not what I remember.

The evening was pretty chill. We all chilled out on the upstairs’ terrace and caught up on our diary’s. We were too lazy to drink and just ended up crashing kind of early that night.










Feb 3
We got up early that morning to get a start on the day. We were traveling to another city and it’s always better to leave time for missed busses, flat tires, etc.

Once we were awake and packed we headed out to catch a one hour bus ride to the local bus station. The distances you have to travel are crazy in Bangkok. In time though we did make the ride to the station and grabbed our tickets. Ana bought three tickets on the next bus to Ratchanaburi.

The ride to our place went pretty smooth despite the small seats and blazing sun coming through the windows. Sure enough we jumped out when the driver told us we were there. As the bus headed off into the distance we started to wonder why none of the touts were bothering us. There were no real signs in English and I couldn’t figure out why the city just didn’t seem right.

We tried to make a phone call but after looking at all the instructions in Thai we realized this was not a good idea and that we would just get a taxi to the hotel. We found a driver and tried to explain to him where we wanted to go. He didn’t understand us and when we said were in Katchanaburi he said yes. It was getting frustrating and I showed him the name in the book. He laughed and said no were not in Katchanaburi were in Ratchanaburi. Ana had bought the wrong tickets – Shit.

The man pointed at the bus across the street and said we needed to take that one. We ran up and over the walking bridge once again to catch the bus that was nice enough to wait for us. We jumped on and paid the money to get to the right city. Luckily I think we only wasted about an hour going to the wrong city. We were headed in the right direction at least. I would have been pissed if we had went east instead of west because we would have had to backtrack so far. But in the end we were on a local bus with really bad seats headed to the right city.

Ana was pretty frustrated by this point and I could tell she felt dumb for buying the wrong tickets. We got in a little heated cat fight with no real blood drawn. Ah the joys of traveling.

In time we finally bounced our way all the way to Katchanaburi the city where the real “Bridge over river Kwai” is. I don’t know a ton about the history of the bridge or the railroad but was interested to find out more.

Once we hit town we grabbed a tuk tuk and headed to the hotel we wanted to stay. After a little hunting we found a great little place for a decent price. During the time we were looking for a room Ana and Vane got in a good cat fight and they both drew some blood. I’m pretty sure they called each other the F word or the N word. Not sure but either way they were pretty pissed at each other.

I knew we were all getting tired and needed to drop our bags and fill our stomachs before we all killed each other. We did just that and after a local chicken sandwich and foul tasting burger at a place called Flintstones we were doing better. The edge was taken off all of us and we seemed a little more normal.

We topped off dinner with a trip to 7-12 for some coffee drinks and my favorite semi liquid drink a Slurpee. We played around for a couple hours and checking the city our and looking at the different tours they offered.

We all wanted to have a beer that night but in the end we got too lazy and just ended up crashing early. My sleep clock was still not a hundred percent used to the time so I ended up beating everyone to sleep. It felt nice just to crash.











Feb 4
Sometime around 4:00 I woke up again and had to go to the bathroom. My bladder was at maximum size and I was on the edge of wetting my bed for the first time in a few weeks. I tried to just wake up enough to hit the toilet and not the floor then go back to bed. But it was too late and I wasn’t able to fall asleep again. So I some turning exercises till the light got strong enough for me to get out of bed.

We all showered and headed out to start the day. We first scheduled our “Tiger Temple” tour then ate some brunch. We found a great little place that had wonderful Thai food and great fruit shakes. We were all really satisfied with that meal.

We headed to the local “Bridge over river Kwai” museum to catch up on some history and learn more about the bridge and its history. The museum was great and put together really well. It told the story of how the bridge was designed by the Japanese to bring supplies to Burma and eventually onto conquering India. The oceans had become too dangerous and they needed a train system to bring supplies to the war front. They originally estimated the bridge would take five years but they did it in sixteen months. They used POW’s and people they took from Burma and Thailand to build the bridge. The conditions were harsh and led to the death of 60,000 men.

After the museum we headed back to catch our Tiger Temple tour. We were all pretty excited to go to the temple and I wasn’t going to let the video I had seen in the past effect their mood. To be specific the video I saw was of the guy getting his arm eaten by the tiger. It was pretty brutal. The video showed the guy being led to the tiger to sit next to it and take a picture. Sure enough the tiger looked pretty tame and chill like a house cat when there lying around the house. But right as the guy went to sit next to him he stepped on the tiger's tail. The tiger flinched and with the claws on one paw and grabbed the guys arm. He then tried to pull the guy closer to him to bite him. The two people helping him started pulling on the guy and they were in a tug-a-war with the guy. It was pretty brutal and at one point you could hear the guys arm snap. Eventually the cat let go and the guy was taken to the hospital and stitched up.

So in the end we jumped in the truck taxi and headed to the temple. I just keep reminding Ana and Vane to NOT step on the tiger's tail whatever they did.

After about twenty five minutes we were at the temple and we bought our tickets to get in. We had to sign the tickets that said if anything happened it wasn't their fault. The tigers were sometimes aggressive and they took no responsibility. Interesting. Oh well they had pretty good hospitals there compared to Africa.

We gave our tickets to the guard and walked in the gate. Right to our left were two male deer’s with a full rack of horns fighting against each other. It was pretty cool and there was no fence between us. The guard motioned to us to keep moving.

About two hundred yards down the road we came to a small pit in the ground. This was where the tigers were brought a few hours a day for people to come and pet them and take pictures next to them. The canyon was pretty large and there were about ten tigers chained to different areas. I was glad to see the chains. I was a little worried they would be roaming free. There were also large fans blowing cool air at the tigers. A smart move since they probably get feisty when they get too hot.

I jumped in line and in no time there was a young Thai girl walking me by my hand into the area with the tigers. It was a pretty sweat feeling I must say. Really powerful animals and being so close to so many was really amazing.

Since I was the first one to see the tigers the girls were laughing at me from the side. I was a little uncomfortable sitting next to the first tiger. I made damn sure not to be near his tail. I didn't need no tiger scares on my arm. Although that would be a pretty sweat story. That and biker bar fight tattoos.

Sitting next to the first tiger was really amazing. What a creature. I was able to pet the backside of him as they quickly snapped a photo of me and him. He was beautiful and it was wonderful to get the opportunity to be that close to such a monster. I feel really privileged.

As soon as I sat down I was off again to sit next to another tiger. In about eight seconds I sat next to eight tigers. The whole time I was led by hand to see each tiger and told where to sit for the best picture. The experience was fast and very touristy but none the less an amazing experience. Being among that many tigers was a treat.

While I was being led around I saw that Vane was also starting to be led around by another couple of the workers. She had some pretty big eyes and didn't seem to be digging the experience all that much. Sure enough Vane wanted out of the pit right after the first tiger. She would rather see them from the sideline.

To my surprise Ana walked through the pit and got all the photos. She seemed pretty at ease with the whole process and I was very pleased to see that. She's become so strong and I love how she's changed since I've met her. She now has the capacity to really experience another level of feelings and emotions. When I first met her she couldn't have ever done that. She's grown and I felt like a proud father watching her on the side. I could tell she wasn't present to the fear as much as the experience of being with the tigers. That was great and I was glad we were both able to feel and share those feelings.

I could tell Vane was a little flustered by having to jump out of the pit due to her fear. I cheered her on and told her to get back in line and do it again. I knew she'd regret not having gone back at least one more time. She's brave like her sister and jumped back in line. I was proud of her.

Sure enough Vane made it through the line and into the tiger pit for some really great shots and a second chance at this unusual experience. The one thing that was really interesting was that about a minute after she got out of the pit and was high on the experience one of the lions started to get restless. A person was sitting next to him when the tiger got up and started walking circles around the short area he could walk due to the length of his chain. I was watching that cat and I could tell it was in a funky mood. Sure enough the people felt it as well and stopped bringing people next to him to take a photo. He was on time out I guess. The monk tried giving him some water and calming him down but he didn't want any part of that.

After about a few minutes of walking circles with that restless look in his face the cat ran and took a swipe at one of the guys walking by. The guy probably deposited a little cookie for later in his pants when that happened. Man that cat ran and the chain rang tight when he took the swipe. He didn't get him but the guy jumped away when he did. It was pretty funny and I could tell he was going to do something. Those tigers are wild beast. They have that look in their eye and in their walk. Captive born doesn’t take that out of them.

We all made it through the pit alive and with no new scares. It was a pretty cool experience and after the pit we walked to the tiger cages to see a couple cubs. They were really cute. At the end of the day the workers put the tigers back in their cages for the night then dropped a ton of food on the road to feed all the other animals in the park. There were a bunch of water buffalos, peacocks, pigs, deer, etc. They all ran to the area with the food to eat.

When they were feeding the animals I really started to experience what they were up too there. The monks developed a relationship with the animals. They were their friends and they treated them well. They meditated and believed they could talk with the animals. Not just the tigers but all animals. It was actually a really beautiful idea. There was a real peace about the place and when all the animals were together eating it somehow hit home to me. It felt like Ace Ventura's apartment in the Pet Detective movie. It was really cool and I really enjoyed the park and what they were up too.

We taxied back home in the back of a truck and ended up getting a few "Tiger" beers to chill out the evening. It seemed appropriate. In the end Vane wasn't really in the mood to drink so Ana and I hit it pretty hard. Those tigers got some kick to them. Falling asleep that night was as easy as it comes.











Feb 5
Waking up in the morning wasn't the easiest but the idea that we were going to ride on elephants this day helped. The semi warm water in the shower and a large amount of toothpaste on my tooth brush seemed to brighten up how I felt. Once we were all ship shape we headed out to the same place we had eaten the previous day to grab some morning grub before we headed out.

Breakfast was great and next thing you know we were crammed in a small van with a few other people and off for a day filled with elephants, waterfalls, and the famous "bridge over river Kwai".

First stop was the elephant park. When we were driving in we could see about ten elephants in the corner. It was really cool to see and I was so excited to be able to get close to those creatures. I've never been close to elephants. The closest was in the Serengeti where we saw wild families walking across the flat and never ending golden fields. They were fabulous. Does using the word fabulous make me sound gay? Whatever girlfriend that's what I felt.

We jumped out of the van and walked up the latter’s to the small stage from which we could jump onto the seat on the elephants back. Sure enough in no time there the elephants came. The driver/trainer was riding on the neck of the elephant and behind him was a sort of large saddle with a small bench that could fit about two people on it. It was really cool.

They brought the elephants around and we jumped in the seat/saddle. Ana and Vane were on the first elephant and I was on the second. The elephant they were on was a massive male elephant and the one I was on was a big shorter and seemed to be a female. I wanted to be on the larger elephant but in time I really grew to love my elephant.

The first you notice sitting on an elephant is how high off the ground you are. Man those things are really tall. We headed out to cross the street and do our amazing jungle journey that in reality was just a small worn dirt path just across the busy highway. It wasn't like the photos we had seen in the glossy brochure but oh well.

Although the journey only lasted about twenty minutes it still was really amazing. I've never been on the back of such a large animal and it was a really unique experience. In my imagination it felt like I was riding a prehistoric dinosaur. The foot steps were big and heavy but somehow light and agile. It was really cool just to admire this big hunk of beef walking down the road.

When we finished the short circle very quickly and headed to the riverside to "bath the elephants". I wasn't sure what to expect but it sounded like fun.

On the way to the river my elephant driver jumped off using the ear and leg of the elephant to get to get to the ground. He then walked in front of the elephant not really paying much attention. The driver was a pretty cool guy but didn't speak really any English. He motioned for me to sit down on the neck of the elephant so I slide off the seat and onto the neck of the elephant. The head of the elephant was huge and the skin was surprisingly smooth. My legs startled his huge neck and I help onto the top of his massive head or his ears. It was a little funny at first but I tried to imagine I was an elephant trainer and ride the elephant with ease and grace.

One thing that felt really weird was the top of the elephants head. It had a ton of large thick widely spaced black hairs and I wondered if they would poke me and be uncomfortable. But when I placed my palms on the top of the elephants head it was surprisingly smooth. The hairs were tough but not sharp. It was really cool to be on the neck of the elephant and feel in control of such a large beast. Really cool. I was like Tarzan with a farmer tan and balding head.

Once we got near the river side we got off the elephants onto an elevated platform and walked to the riverside to await the elephants. We were given lifejackets and a bottle of soap. Sure enough the elephants came from the riverside to pick us up. I had Ana and Vane got first. They jumped on the neck of the elephant and in no time they were headed to deep water and screaming like little kids. The elephant driver stood up on the back of the elephant and gave verbal commands to the elephant to kneel underwater which basically submerged the elephant completely and Ana and Vane up to their chest. The water was cold and they were screaming. It was really funny to watch and the elephant I had been riding was throwing water from its truck right into Vane's face. It was really funny and the driver repeated the wetting process about twenty times with Vane screaming each time the cold water hit her.

A little soap and scrubbing on the head and another submersion and they were done. It was really fun and I was next. I jumped on my elephants back and away we went for the same showering and dunking. It was good fun and in the end I was soaked and smiling. I didn't scream like a little girl no matter what the other girls said. Their liars.

Once the bathing was done we took a jeep back to the starting point and waited for the rest of the group which was doing a bamboo rafting excursion to catch up with us. While we were waiting we got a great chance to interact with the elephants on a close and personal level. I had always wanted to do that so I was really excited to be able to touch, feed, and photograph the elephants for about half and hour. It was a great experience and I must say my impression of elephants has been completely changed.

While we were talking with the drivers/guides and playing with the elephants I really got a chance to see how smart elephants are. They are just like other pets as well with differing personalities. They are gentle monsters and I love that about them. Also the relationship the drivers/guides have with their animals seems really close. When my driver hugged the elephant her ears would flap almost like a dog wagging his tail. It was really cute to see and the elephants just seemed so lovable. Not what I though. They were really beautiful creatures.

Finally after interacting, and feeding the elephants for a while the others showed up and we were off to the next part of our day tour - lunch and the river falls. When we arrived for lunch we had some fried rice (our stable food source in this part of the world) and some water. After lunch we had a couple hours to hike up the trail and see the seven different falls on the river.

The hike to the top falls took about an hour and it was actually a little tough. The trail wasn't the best and Vane hasn't had that much exposure to hiking. Actually this was only her second hike ever and she did really well. Ana had only flip flops as well so that didn't help either. But in the end we made it to the top falls that turned out to be a little disappointing. We headed back down the trail to swim at least in one of the falls.

We decided we would swim in the fourth falls on the trail. It was a beautiful blue water falls in the middle of the jungle. It was like a postcard and it also had a little slide we could go down. Sure enough Vane, Ana and I all went down it. It was great fun and Vane had to overcome allot of her fears to make the climb up the falls and then down the slide. It was really cool to watch her grow in her outdoor abilities.

After the swimming we headed back to the mini van to see the "Death Bridge". I was pretty interested in seeing this since seven hundred people died building this section of the bridge in only seventeen days. From what I understood a massive flood took most of them.

When we arrived to the section of the bridge it was really sad to see such a small section of bridge and to think of the people who died to make it. I guess human life just isn't that valuable during war. I kind of understand how that can be traveling to these third world countries. Life of people and animals just isn't that important. Not like in America where a death is seen as such a tragedy. I'll bet during this time a death was just an everyday sight. Those people must have been so numb. I try to imagine it but I'm sure I'm far from really understanding.

After seeing the bridge for a while we jumped on the train which took us across the bridge. That was pretty cook and we rode the train for about twenty minutes. The train was pretty old and the ride was ok. We jumped off after a little bit and got in our van once again to see the famous "Bridge over river Kwai". We got there when a flood of tourist were let out. It was pretty nuts on the bridge but we had to go out onto it. Ana wasn't feeling to well so Vane and I were the only one's to go.

The bridge itself wasn't that impressive. It was a large steel bridge much like allot of others. But what was interesting was to think the first one was made of wood. Then to think it was bombed and rebuild in metal. Then again bombed and rebuilt again. You could where they had rebuilt the metal bridge the second time. It must have been an amazing viewpoint from the pilots who bombed the bridges. Wow.

In the end we headed back to the city to finish our tour, eat dinner, and hit the sack. It was a great day filled with elephants, waterfalls, and history. I really enjoyed it and felt like I had really learned allot since the day started. When I woke up I didn't have the connection I have now with elephants and I hadn't felt the depth of hurt in my heart from all the men who lost their lives building that railway. The day had changed me and that for me makes a great day.











Feb 6
I slept pretty solid that night due to the previous day’s adventures. Morning though came too early and getting out of bed to catch the early bus was pretty rough. A sure sign that I was adjusting to the local time schedule.

We took a tuk tuk, and two buses to get to the city where we would catch the overnight train to Chaing Mai. The day was pretty much filled with sitting in a bus with a bunch of local bouncing around and trying to keep the burning sun off our faces. Of course the curtains were old and dusty and seemed to slap you in the face every time you barely let go of them. It was a futile fight but there was really nothing else to do.

We got to the city we were going to catch the train in with no real problems. It took about six hours and we were able to run directly to the train station and lock in our overnight train tickets. I was happy we were able to do that and we had about five hours to burn till we needed to jump on the train. We dropped our bags in storage and headed out into the city to see what we could find.

First stop in the city was the local Buddhist temple. The book said the sight was going to be really beautiful and they were right. It was a amazing ground of ruins. Tons of "watt’s" sticking up all over the place. They were built on bad ground and many of them were tilting and falling apart. All that added to the magic of the place. There was also a famous Buddhist head wrapped in the roots of a tree. It was a beautiful sight and was the really cool to see. I imagined that much of Angkor Watt was going to be like that. Jungle trees and roots strangling and breaking apart old Buddhist temples.

After wandering around the temple for a while and being "Pablito's" for a while we headed back to town to grab some food and chill for a while before the train. Dinner ended up being some more lovely fried rice in a funky cafe owned by an annoying local who spoke broken English. Ana wasn't too excited with him and gave him a little attitude.

Finally the train rolled into the station and we jumped on for the ride. I wasn't sure what to expect since the book said the overnight train can be worse than the overnight bus? That didn't make sense to me since a bus you have to sleep in a chair and a train you get to lay down. How could a train be worse? But anything is possible in these countries.

Our train compartment guy made our beds and we jumped in. We ate some snacks we had robbed from the local 7-11 and eventually fell asleep. I was pretty tired and hoped my fatigue would help me make it through the night.











Feb 7
Although the train bounced from side to side pretty strong at points sleeping turned out to be pretty easy. I was happy about that since it gave us enough of a night’s sleep to enjoy the next day in Chang Mai.

Sometime around 9:00 the noise of people moving around and my curiosity at what time it was got me out of bed. Once I pulled my screen back I realized there were allot of people up and we were only about half an hour from Chang Mai. That was a nice feeling and I had enough time to straighten out my back and pack my bags before we hit the train station.

Getting off the train with so many other backpackers’s made the station turn into a shark pit. There was blood in the water and the vendor’s and taxi drivers were in a panic to get our attention. In the end we walked far enough away and said no enough to detour most of them. A few hung on and in the end we found a nice guy who agreed to take us to the hotel area for a reasonable price.

Our three wheel “tuk tuk” weaved through traffic and got us to the hotel area in no time flat. We dropped Ana off with the packs and Vane and I looked around to sniff out a good deal. After about ten different places and a bit of frustration we finally landed a pretty sweat room with the hope that there was going to be room the next day for us too stay.

Once we dropped off our gear we hit the showers and huddled up to the hit the streets and get some grub. I had seen a spot that was full of hippie backpackers and decided we should head there. It must be a great place.

It didn’t take long to realize that the “Blue Diamond” restaurant was really a place for rabbits and horses to eat. Everything was designed for those all natural hippie people. Nut this, and bark tasting that. They even had some ketchup without sugar in it. What the hell is that? It came out of the bottle like a big turd and tasted slightly better. Mr. Heinz would turn in his grave if he knew someone made that stuff. Where was the bloody grease, oil, and fat? Kriminy.

After that meal fit for an LA super model we headed back to the room to catch a few Z’s. We did sleep pretty on the train but there’s nothing like a cat nap after that yummy bark we had for brunch. I’m sure I’ll be backed up for a week with all that natural grain shit. My body just doesn’t know how to handle that stuff. Hang tight poor little stomach. I’ll get you some street food soon.

After a great little afternoon nap we were all feeling pretty super charged. We found a cooking course and signed up for it the next day. We also booked Vane’s flight and headed out to check out the local Night Market.

After about two miles of crazy Thai streets with vendors and food all over the place we made it to the market with more crazy Thai street vendors and food all over the place.

At the market we ended up buying some pretty cool shirts. Ana and Vane got a shirt they’ve been wanting for a while. I was also able to buy a shirt titled DJ Mao. It was pretty sweet and has a photo of Mao on the turn tables. It’s pretty sweat and I’ll bet if I wore that in China I would get in trouble. Funny to think that but I’m sure I would have. They don’t like people making fun of their important figures.

For dinner we found a little place that had some pretty good Thai food and sandwiches. Both Ana and Vane are tired of the noodles and rice and are trying to enjoy all the “Americanish” food they can before we hit Laos. I’m sure the diet will change there. With dinner we decided to have a Singaporean beer called “Tiger”. After sharing three large bottles we were feeling pretty good. Ana was already pretty buzzed and I was surprised to see how buzzed I was myself. It was a nice way to start the night and we hit the market again but this time the sidewalk seemed a little more crocked and the people more blurry.

It was great walking down the crazy Thai street with Ana and Vane a little buzzed. Good times. We tried to find another bar to keep the buzz going but had no luck so we flagged down a little three wheeled terror on street and got a ride back to our neck of the woods. Man I must say I love being in those crazy little taxi’s flying down weird streets of Thailand with the wind blowing the few hairs left on my head. That’s a great feeling and I wish everyone could experience that. Man those are the experiences that I love when traveling.

We say the 7-11 near our place and yelled at the taxi driver to let us off there. Once we paid him he slide out of sight and we headed to the air-conditioned beer cooler in the back of the store. To our disappointment there were no Tiger beers left. Damn. But no worries since just across the street there was another 7-11.

Sure enough we crossed the street and headed to the back of the air-conditioned room to the beer coolers. Sure enough all I had to do was reach deep into the cooler and pull our the last three Tall Tigers left. Next thing you could hear was the beeping sound of the register, the psssst of the top of the beer, and me burping in delight.

Since there are no real rules in Thailand we walked down the street with our Tall Tigers in hand. We crossed the street back to the 7-11 we had just came from to get some bacon wrapped asparagus we had seen in a little food cart on the street in front of the first 7-11. We had been to so many 7-11’s by that point I started getting them confused and started looking for a 8-12.

We all sat down on the little crooked chairs and rested my arms on the crocked table that rocked depending on who leaned more and ordered a fat order of street runs. But we were drunk and there is nothing better than bacon grease from a street cart in Thailand. Nothing.

I crossed my chest in the four points that represent the cross and bit into my little bacon wrapped slice of heaven. Man they were great and luckily I wasn’t too hungry or I would have ordered a few more rounds.

As we consumed the beers the jokes started getting really bad and we were laughing like fools. I remember making hand motions like those dumb Chinese cats you see everywhere and weird howling noises. I’m sure we looked like idiot tourist but we were having some jolly good fun.

By the end of our evening snacks the beers were empty and the table had leveled out and the chairs seemed quiet comfortable. We paid up and grabbed a couple more cold one’s for the road. Ana decided to bail out on the last beer since she was having a little trouble walking.

The room wasn’t far away and in no time we were laying down trying to finish our beers before we fell asleep. It was a good night and eventually we all crashed out.











Feb 8
Morning came on swift wings despite the Tigers that seemed to be roaring in my lower intestines. A couple times I had to sit up to slow the spinning room down. That doesn’t happen too often and it must have been the Thai beer. Man that’s good stuff.

Ana got up and woke up pretty chipper and jumped in the shower. I followed and with the help of some clean cold water the pain started to leave and the zeal of another exciting day started to cheer me up.

Ana found out that we wouldn’t be able to stay in our hotel room another day so we had to make a quick move to another hotel. Luckily I had met a nice older Thai man the previous day that had rooms for a reasonable price. I ran over there with my gear and secured us a room while Ana and Vane checked out.

In the end we made it right on time to catch our truck taxi to the cooking class. We sat in the back of the truck and it didn’t take only about two turns for the driver to lock up the brakes and send us piling on top of each other in the front of the truck. It ended up being pretty funny and a nice ice breaker for the group. It’s funny how close you feel to the person in front of you after you pull your head out of their armpit.

The first part of the cooking class was a market run. They showed us all the nasty stuff they put in the food we’ve been eating for some time. The curries, fermented fish oils with maggots, etc. was a nice way to kick off the course. The guide ended up being pretty funny and made the class much more interesting.

Once the market part was complete we all piled in the truck to go to the kitchen. The set up at the “cooking school” was actually allot better than I expected. They were really organized and seemed skilled at what they were doing.

For the next five hours we cut, chopped, laughed and cooked. It was a pretty fun class and we were able to cook six different dished during the course of the class. From Pat Thai to Stir Fried Rice we were all over it. My food actually tasted good enough to eat which was a surprise to me.

In the end we consumed six courses and it showed. We were all pretty tired and ready to head home. We all had our eyebrows and that was a surprise since the last meal had us making the big fire in the pot like they do in Thai restaurants. It was pretty fun.

It was too early to fall asleep when we got back so we burned time walking around and trying to get me a hair cut. Finally after three failed attempts I got a hair cut that was ok. My hair is starting to fall out and each hair cut I get in these weird places is making me look worse. I think I need to either get a real hair cut in America or go for the buzz cut. We’ll see. I might mow the top off next time. I’ve been threatening that for a while now. It’s almost time for me to get my final hair cut – the buzz.

After getting a hair cut at full price even though I only have seventy percent of my hair we headed back to the room to chill. It was finally late enough (8:00) to go to the room and stay there without feeling like losers.

After a crappy cold shower with a door that I had to hold shut with an old wire from the television we laid in bed. Sleep came fast with the Benadril I had taken.











Feb 9
Waking up for some reason was a little tough. I feel like were all getting a little tired and emotionally bogged down. It happens when you’re on the road too long. Usually the best way to deal with that is too generate yourself out of it and keep yourself busy. Although you want to just sit and mope around that usually just leads to more depression.

We decided in the morning we were going to stay another day in Chang Mai to catch up on some of the details we needed to get done. So we did things like burning our photos to a CD and sending them home, catching up on our blogs, etc. For the most of the day that’s what we did. Move around the busy city and get things done. That was better than getting caught in the room which was fertile ground for cat fights.

Lunch was at old Mick D’s and might be our last chance to eat real food. It’s most likely noodles and rice from here on. We hung around the area for a while till the night market had started and we were able to exchange Ana's shirt for a larger size.

We took a tuk tuk ride back the area near the hotel. Of course we couldn't leave Chang Mai without one more sit down session at the local "bacon wrapped asparagus" street vendor. Man I love those tasty little things. Those little tasty pieces of heaven were all my stomach needed. As I ate I began to purr like a cat being petted on the stomach. Aggggghhhh heaven.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped into a local bar to blur our vision a little more before we headed to the cama. There was a free pool table and Vane and I played a quick game that only lasted about forty-five minutes. Vane hadn't played too much so I did my best to teach her what I knew about pool which wasn't much.

Eventually we headed to our dusty little place to crash for the night.











Feb 10
We woke up and got ready before ten to catch the local eleven o'clock bus to Chang Rai. Of course the Thai local buses have to be ingenious with the seating in the bus and make it so more people can fit. They decided to make the right side of the bus have two seats and the left side of the bus have three. That was fine for three of Willy Wanka's factory workers but for us husky American's it wasn't so nice. Basically only my right butt cheek fit on the seat and Ana had my armpit in her face. Luckily for her she likes men with butt cheeks of steel and the smell of Fresh flavored Old Spice.

Chang Rai was a beacon on the horizon and it was wonderful to finally be there. I jumped off the bus with and walked funny for a while till my other butt cheek stopped being numb.

We found a nice little guesthouse called Ben's Guesthouse and dropped our bags there. We spent more for the nicer room and I must say it makes a huge difference in the trip. It had a bathroom that you actually could touch without getting grossed out and the beds were flat. Hard but flat.

I'm really enjoying the comfort that paying two to three dollars a night more for a room brings. In the beginning it didn't make sense but now were near the finish line of the trip and I don't care so much about the money. I made a ton of money when I was back in town for a couple weeks and that made allot of difference in our budget. I want to enjoy the last part of the trip and I'm willing to fork out ten dollars a day more to do that. Man I'm a big spender. Watch our Donald Trump.

We were all pretty hungry so we decided to walk down the street to look for some food. Of course we walked about twenty minutes and all we found were a bunch of local shops with funky food and low sanitary conditions. I was ok with eating at anyone of the joints but both Ana and Vane had lost their appetites in the search for food. Oh well. I choose a place and ordered a semi safe hot dish of fried rice.

The food turned out to be pretty good and I only had a mild fear in the back on my mind that I might be spending the night with my old pal Mr. Porcelain. The girls got a bag of chips and a drink at the local 7-11 for dinner and we called it a night.











Feb 11
We all sleep pretty good and woke up in the morning ready to rent a motorcycle and cruise the town. I was a little worried about this idea since neither of the girls had really driven a scooter before and they had limited experience on bicycles. But we would give it a shot and see what happened.

It was about a twenty minute walk to the place where we wanted to rent scooters from. Once we got there Ana wanted to try and drive a scooter with gears. There was no clutch but you had to shift gears. I recommended the automatic one but it was more expensive and she was hard headed. It only took starting up the motorcycle and trying to get it into gear for her to realize it was too much to deal with since she's never really driven scooters before. We switched to the more expensive automotive scooter and headed out. Or should I say we tried to head out. Ana trying to drive for the first time was pretty funny.

Ana trying to learn to drive a motorcycle in front of the people renting it to us was way too much pressure. They drove on the streets backwards and it all this was just a recipe for disaster.

Finally the lady renting the bike jumped on the bike and drove it about a hundred feet down the street to a semi empty alley. Ana jumped on and to my surprise actually started too drive it around half way decent. I was really impressed. But overall I still had the impression the bike had control more than she had control most of the time.

Once she did a couple laps down the alley it was time to do one small lap on the street. We headed to the end of the street and jumped on the left had side of the road. Of course all the traffic added pressure to the situation and Ana got scared and tried to drive over the curb and a couple people. It was really funny to her long skinny stork legs trying to stop the motorcycle she was on. I keep telling her to let go of the gas but she seemed to be scared and keep gassing it while she was trying to stop it. It was really funny for me to watch and reminded me of when I was a kid learning to ride a motorcycle. I had that same experience of the bike seeming to have a mind of its own and me trying to stop it like I would a bicycle.

After one good time of her wearing off most of the soul of her shoes trying to stop the out of control bike she was on and she was done. That was enough and she gave the bike back to the people and it was over. She gave it a great shot and I got to hand it to her for trying. She’s great at things like that and even though she didn’t figure out how to drive the bike she gave it a great try.

So with me the only one getting a motorcycle it meant I was going to have to do two trips everywhere. That was cool with me since I love driving those little scooters around town. There great and definitely a highlight of any Southeast Asian trip.

Ana jumped on the bike and we headed out on the London style backwards streets. I came to the first turn onto the main street and in my head planned out where I should be turning. The traffic cleared and I hit the gas. Sure enough I headed right for the oncoming traffic. It was hilarious. Even though I though about where I had to turn I still had the instinct to make a wide left turn into apposing traffic.

Turning into the wrong way of traffic was so funny the first time I had to do it again on the next left hand turn. Damn I was having a hard time making a short left turn. But soon enough I got the hang of it and I was shifting through gears and tearing down the Thai streets at an incredible face blurring speed of sixty kilometer an hour – About thirty five miles an hour. I’m thinking of driving Top Fuel dragster scooters when I get back in the states. Oh yeah I’m that good.

After I dropped off Ana at the hotel and I headed back down the crazy Thai streets to pick up Vane. I was starting to get the hang of the backwards street and it was fun flying down the roads with no real rules and people and cars jumping out everywhere. It was pretty dangerous but the good thing was everyone expected everyone to be driving crazy. That keep everyone on edge and alert and in some weird way made the streets pretty safe? If that’s possible.

In the evening Ana I drove them to have some lunch downtown and that was again pretty fun. Driving on the roads was stating to feel more like a video game than driving. I was diving in and out of traffic and at lights going down the right side to be in the front. That way when the light changed you could jump in front of the oncoming traffic and cross the street. It was pretty cool and I don’t think anyone in Thailand has ever received a ticket. I think the tickets happen when you’re too slow and end up getting a mouth full bumper or gravel.

When the sun started to cool a little in the evening we dragged out the little bike so Ana and Vane could get some practice on the more quiet roads near our hotel. Sure enough we spent about an hour with them driving slowly only in second gear around the streets. Ana was able to shift it to third gear and was getting the hang of it. Not bad for her second time on a bike. Vane did great as well and this was only her first time on a motorcycle. I wanted to build a small four foot jump for them at the end to practice on but they chickened out. They had a helmet and I told them as long as they are going fast everything would be fine. But in the end I couldn’t sell them on it and had to only jump it by myself.

Dinner consisted of me driving us to the four times to the local pizza place. It was a great pizza place and for all the world tasted like pizza back home. Only Thailand could pull something like that off and I was so happy to be in their country. Man I love this country the people are smart and extremely friendly and inviting. What more could you ask. I wish it was a little less touristy but in the end there are so many cons this part of the country gets outweighed.

In the evening we hit the 7-11 for some treats and chilled in the room and read some. Ana read her romance novel and I read a light book on how quantum physics clarifies the notion of interstellar time travel in the inverse property of x. Was a good book and proved my theories on how Einstein was really quite dumb and arrogant in his famous E=MC2 equation. A child could see how wrong he was.

Although our beds were hard I felt asleep like a kitten after it drank a large warm bowl of beer.











Feb 12
We woke up at a decent time and headed to a local place we had spotted before the grab a nice America breakfast. Ana and Vane were thinking of riding their bikes twenty kilometers to a local “Long Neck” village and needed a solid breakfast to do that. Fortunately the previous night they came to their senses and cancelled the idea. But for some reason they didn’t cancel our breakfast.

Breakfast was great and even included some good tasting bacon. Can you believe this country? After dropping Vane off at the hotel me and Ana headed out to see if we could find the “Long Neck Village” on our own. It was about forty kilometers there and back and I wasn’t looking forward to the high speeds and crazy people. But what the hell the worst we could do is leave a small pile of skin on the road.

The road through town was nuts and although I had already been through two times the third time through was still different than the first two. Luckily I just navigate by the sun and as long as I’m headed in that general direction I’ll eventually get to where I’m going.

Sure enough we made it through town and were on our way to down the main highway with the little scooter pegged as fast as it can go and hanging on the side of the road. It was pretty stressful watching local traffic and highway traffic but in the end we made it to the sign that said long necks this way.

After passing a few farms and a little dirt road we made it to the village. The soreness in my butt told me the trip took about forty five minutes and I when we looked at the watch I was right.

We headed to the entrance and bought our ticket. The village area was actually a large area with five different groups there. It seemed ok and after buying our tickets we were able to see a couple metal neck rods that the “Long Neck” women wore on the table. They were pretty cool and made up of brass tubing about a quarter inch in diameter. They were amazingly heavy and weighed around eight to ten pounds. It was really cool to see the brass rings off their neck and I was really excited to see the real people no matter how touristy it was.

As we headed down the trail we were met by a little local girl who was our “guide”. She was really cute so we went with her and she walked us down to the village. She was a cute little thing and was all smiles as she consumed her large portion of mealworms with some kind of flavoring. We knew they were worms when she showed us how the food she was eating came from the wood on the floor. Interesting.

About the time our tiny guide got us to the bottom of the hill she was done with her bags of worms and starting to warm up too us. She brought us to the first small village which contained about ten small huts and seemed extremely touristy and I was ready to see the money from my pockets slip out.

Sure enough about one minute after entering the village we were being swept into the largest structure for some weird performance that was for sure going to be worth the money. If it had been earlier in the trip I think I would have been pretty pissed off and felt like I was being forced to see and pay for something I just didn’t ask or want to have. But it’s getting near the end of the trip and what the heck I was up to see a cheesy show and pay heavily for it.

Sure enough the show started as soon as my receding hairlines caressed the shade within the room. It was two local looking girls and soon enough there were eight. We sat and watched the little show for a few minutes and it was actually a pretty cool sound they were making by beating the large bamboo sticks on the ground.

At the end of the show we clapped and threw a few dollars in the huge box in front of us labeled “Donations”. They should have written on it “If you don’t give us money you’re a looser and we’ll look at you funny”. But I guess everyone knows that’s what they really meant to say.

We headed back out into the heat to see the rest of the village with our little guide close by our side. She was a cute little thing. Many of the children in Laos have been shy or kind of emotionless. That was sad to see and I wasn’t sure why that was. I guess they were taught to be that way from their parents. But how can you teach a child that young to not be expressive. From what I can remember most children around the world seemed to be more expressive. Maybe it was genetic. It seemed the people in general were really unexpressive. Who knows?

Either way our cute little guide continued to walk us through a couple other small villages close by. They weren’t much and seemed to lack any real content or reason for us to give them money so we hurried out. I was really only interested in seeing the long neck people and I was saving that for last on the tour.

Sure enough we entered the last small village and there were the long neck people. In total I think the tribe had about twenty members including the children and men. It was cool to see them and I noticed myself staring at them. But they didn’t seem to mind and were used to the attention.

The older ladies were really beautiful with their long brass covered necks and legs and the intense colors they worn. When they talked it sounded like they were talking from the bottom of a deep well. It seemed like it took energy to get the words to the top and out of their mouths. I wondered how it felt and if they had trouble eating large things like a turkey leg or on Thanksgiving of something like that. It was really a cool sight and I was glad to be able to see them no matter how touristy it was.

We took some photos and walked around for about half an hour. We were able to interact with some of them and was really cool. They had a sense of peace and ease. Something I really love and admire about people who live like they do. They have time and that makes them and their lives different. It’s great to be around them because the world seems to slow and become easy. I love that experience.

One of the things that was really interesting was the school they had set up. It looked pretty modern even though it was only a hut. The building and the kids with rings on their necks but the text books and posters were very modern. The money we were giving to them was helping them to teach their kids and modernize them. I was happy to see that and glad that tourism had impacted their lives in a good way. I read a brochure that also said the people were happy to be their rather than being in war stricken Burma.

I sometimes am caught between whether we should change people like these. Should we educate them and give them tools that will eventually lead them to being “normal” and “regular” people. By educating them we are taking away their strong backgrounds and turning them into everyday people. Is that right? I’ve fought with that question allot and where I stand now is – yes. Yes we should help them. Yes we should give them opportunity. We don’t have the right to deprive them of what the world has to offer them. Give them access to everything and let them choose. If they want MTV give it to them. Who am I and who are we to say they shouldn’t have that.

The long neck experience turned out to be pretty rewarding and much more than I expected. Me and Ana left the park and headed back to town.

After about forty five minutes of terror we made it back to town. The sun was intense and the traffic was insane. You could never really rest for a second. People, dogs, chickens, you name it was always coming at you from some direction. But somehow as I drove more I was starting to understand the chaos. There was a weird kind of order to the madness and driving like a lunatic seemed to be safer than driving cautiously.

Everyone expected you to cut them off and pull anything you can to get in front of them. If and opportunity opened up no matter how unsafe everyone expected you to take it. Driving down the wrong side of the road, cutting to the front at red lights, all was game. I was starting to get the feel for the road and it was becoming more fun and less dangerous.

When we hit the hotel I was pretty beat. The sun and crazy roads seemed to take it out of me so I sat down for a little bit to rest and recuperate some more energy to do the same trip again with Vane.

After a little bit I jumped on the scooter with Vane and we hit the road. The journey the second time was very similar just a little less stressful since I knew where I was going and driving wasn’t as intense.

We made the village after about forty-five minutes and “donated” more money to the bamboo players and saw the long necks again. Vane seemed to really enjoy the people and I must say I did as well even though it was my second time their in one day.

After the village we headed back to town and the ride was even more interesting. It was close to rush hour and the streets were getting even more insane. We had a couple close calls but nothing to bad.

Once we got back to the hotel we rested for a bit and then headed to town to grab some dinner. I drove Ana first then went back to pick up Vane. We dropped off the scooter at the rental place and I was relieved to see to deliver it safe and sound. It was funny but the girl simply said thank you and leave the keys on the desk. Man in America renting or dropping off a car is a pain in the butt. Theirs contracts, insurance, blah, blah, blah. But in Thailand you just give them the money and they give you the keys. I love those simple freedoms. Something America has really lost.

To our surprise the nice couple in the room next to us was turning in their scooter as well and decided to have dinner with us. The food turned out to be ok along with the conversation with them. Little bland but filling. They were a cute couple I just think we were on a little different wave lengths.

After dinner we hit the internet shop for a little more time dancing our fingers on the keyboard.

The rest of the evening was pretty simple and chill since we had to take a bus early the next morning to get into Lao. I was looking forward to Laos and didn’t know what to expect. It sounded more adventurous and third world and I was looking forward to that. I love Thailand but I was ready for more adventure and “real” and not so modern people.











Feb 13
We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to catch the bus to the border. We wanted to make it all the way to a small town in the north of Laos and we needed an early morning bus to hopefully accomplish that in one day.

Putting our bags back on our backs we slumbered and yawned as we walked out the door. Oh I hate that feeling of waking while it still dark and throwing that bag on my back. Man I can’t wait to never have to do that again. My stomach turns when I think of those times.


As we started to walk to catch a local Tuk Tuk the sun started to come up. We grabbed a Tuk Tuk and headed to the station. Since we were in a pretty modern country things were pretty organized. We jumped on the bus and headed out without any real problems.

The journey to the border town only took about four hours and we knew we were there when the bus seemed to stop in the middle of no where and everyone started getting off. We were a little hungry and decided we better get some food before we hit the long bus ride on the other side of the border.

We headed to the local market to treasure hunt for some semi sanitary food in a market filled with vendors. Sure enough after a couple minutes of hunting through nasty fish smells that can almost make you “hurl” we found a little place. We ordered up a couple bowls of fried rice extra hot. Not extra hot with spices but extra hot using tons of flame to kill anything that was still moving.

The “flied lice” went down pretty smooth. Vane wasn’t hungry but keep herself busy cleaning the shampoo that had exploded in her bag. It was a rooky move not to keep that large shampoo in a bag but both Ana and I had done it before. After Vane finished cleaning up the mess in her bag she headed to the bathroom. I’m not sure all of what happened but somehow while squatting to drop off some brown weight she slipped and got a nice cut on her lower back. Poor thing was having a tough morning and both Ana and I felt bad for her. But when the going gets tough the tough get going and that’s what she did. We wiped off the blood, took a picture for posterity, and hit the road to cross the border.

It took about five minutes in a rickety old Tuk Tuk to get to the river – the official border crossing. It was the Mekong River and it was nice to see. I always hear so much about the river and it was nice to finally be near it and see its brown waters flowing gently by.

We got stamped out of Thailand and jumped on the more than interesting looking long boat with about fifteen other people. I could tell just by looking at the boat and the other side of the river we were headed for a more “third world” kind of country.

The chainsaw sounding motor started up and we were off. It only took a few minutes to cross the river and we docked on the other shore. We threw our bags off the boat and then jumped to get off. With our shoes still dry we headed up the hill to get stamped into our new country – Laos.

On the way up the hill a guy stopped us and told us to fill out some forms before we got to the top. I was pretty tired and not really in the mood to do some paperwork. I grabbed the paper and started filling it out quickly with my backpack on. The guy at the stand told me to “relax your in Laos now – take off your backpack and sit down”. Those comments mad me more made and I felt like he was being a lazy punk. I continued to leave my pack on and sweat so I could finish the papers quick. It was really funny but the guy was right and I had no reason to worry. It was a funny moment definitely a precursor to how things were going to be in Laos. I was going to need to put my American pushy get things done NOW attitude away and take on my “roll me another fatty my brother and don’t worry” way of being.

Stamp…Stamp and we were on our way up the ramp and into the micro border town to catch a bus to the northern little town of Luang Namtha. Sure enough the first Tuk Tuk we saw had about five people sitting and talking in it. We asked them if we could go to the bus station and they said there were no buses. At least that’s what I think they said through our inability to really communicate. We said we wanted to go anyways and bartered a decent price for them to take us.

After about ten minutes of riding in a Tuk Tuk that I was sure the wheels were help on my bubble gum and duck tape we made it to the “station”. It was one funny looking building in the middle of a small lot. Interesting. We asked him several times if this was the bus station and he kept shaking his head. It looked more like an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere rather than a bus terminal for a border town.

The driver said we could stay in the hotel right across from the bus station. It also looked abandoned and we decided to just head back to town and figure things out there. It looked like we were going to be trapped in this town for the night. We were pretty sure the buses must only leave in the morning. Yes Sir, Welcome to Laos.

In town I dropped off Vane and Ana to go check out some hotels. The nicest hotel by far only had two rooms available and we took them. Ahhhhh it was nice to be in a clean room. I dropped my bags and jumped on the bed only to hear a cracking sound in my back. It was at that moment that I wondered if I had actually hit the bed or had I missed it and hit the floor. I looked to my sides and both sides had edges of bed. Could this actually be the bed? Could this be a real bed it felt like a rock? I was pretty sure my huge white butt wasn’t even making a dimple in the bed. I took my fist and punched the bed. Holy Crappola it was the hardest bed I’ve been on since I started the trip. I peeled back the blankets to see what was underneath. To my surprise there was actually a eight inch thick mattress? It was really amazing. I couldn’t believe that a bed could be that hard. Not even the beds in China were that bad. They were only half and inch of foam on a board and they were more comfortable. All I could do was laugh and wonder how perfectly straight my back was going to be the next morning.

After relaxing for a while on our comfy beds we decided we had to go out and check out this crazy one horse town. There wasn’t much to see so we ended up just burning most of the evening doing really nothing. Dinner turned out to be pretty nice since we found a great little place just off the Mekong River. It looked a little sketchy but what didn’t in that town.

The food and drinks turned out to be really good and the sky treated us to a wonderful transition to night as we ate. It was really magical and I was so happy to be in the presence of the Mekong River and its magic. The long boats with there chain saw motors in the distance, the fishermen with their little cone hats, and the orange setting sun was just really magical. Cool Cool Cool Coolo.

After dinner we headed back to our rock hard crib to chill and catch a few letters after Y.