Same Same...But Different

Hi everyone! I'm in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the moment but I haven't updated for nearly a week so I will rewind to where I last left off in Vietnam.















From Hanoi, we took an overnight train to the ancient imperial city of Hue (pronounced "hway"). It is located just south of the the Demilitarized Zone which was the designation between the North and the South during the war. The city is separated by the Perfume River, on one half is the ancient ruins of the Nguyen Dynasty which includes a large palatial citadel and numerous interesting historical remains. The other side is much more urban and modernized. It is not nearly as fast paced as Hanoi, yet it does have the feel of an urban city. I was only there for a day and a half, but it was very memorable. Our group got an amazing motorbike tour of the city and countryside. The country is only a short ride from the main city, but the difference is striking. We drove through vast rice fields and small villages. The countryside is so beautiful and green. We stopped for a break in a small village and I got a chance to talk to a local women who tried to sell me a drink. She was very friendly and I could tell she was very poor so I was happy to buy a coke off of her. She told me that she has never been outside of Hue. A lot of other local people I've talked to have told me the same thing and it makes me realize how lucky I am to come into a foreign country and see so much of it, when so many of the local people can't even afford to travel outside of their hometown.

Another highlight of the tour was visiting a conical hat maker seen here that was born with only one arm because her mother worked out in the fields and used agricultural chemicals on the crops. Her father was killed in the Vietnam War (The American War from the Vietnamese perspective). She has been making conical hats for 30 years and can only make about 3 a day due to her disability. I bought one for 20,000 dong which is a little over a dollar. Once again, it makes me thankful for what I have.

We traveled to a bunker in the country that was close to the famous battle at Hamburger Hill. Apparently it got that name because so many people died in the battle that the hill was rotting with corpses and looked like a hamburger. Being in such a beautiful place with lush plant life and green hills, it was hard to imagine that such horrible things took place there.


This is a picture of a monk setting himself on fire to protest the South Vietnamese president's Anti-buddhist policies. It is on the cover of a Rage Against the Machine Album. The monk who did it was actually trained in the temple that we visited. In the early 60's, he drove to Saigon, got out of his car, doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire. It was pretty amazing to see such the actual car from such a famous incident. I don't think that Buddhist teaching actually promotes self immolation as a valid means of protest, rather this monk was acting on his own behalf in an attempt to send a message to the people that discriminating against Buddhists is wrong.

Here are some random pictures I took in Hue:

From Hue, we drove over a large mountain pass into the ancient trading town of Hoi An. It is a small, slightly touristy town that is sort of a cross between Luang Prabang and Chiang My. When we first got in, the town looked kind of shitty in rundown and I thought to myself: "why the hell are we staying here for 3 nights?" But once we arrived and walked around in the town I could see why. It has a really nice small town feel and the weather is excellent. It wasn't cold and overcast like Hue. It was warm and only slightly cloudy. The town is close to the beach as well. The local hawkers are aggressive as usual in Vietnam, yet a lot more personable. They all have a funny sense of humor and can speak english really well because they deal with a lot of tourists. One of the main businesses in Hoi An is clothing. There are about 200 different shops that will custom make clothes. A lot of people in my group planned on getting clothes made, but I told myself that I wouldn't do it because my bag was too full. That all changed on the second day when I met a charming young lady about my age. She approached me and asked me all sorts of personal questions like most of the Vietnamese do: Where are you from? How old are you? Are you married? Do you have a girlfriend? I figured she was just trying to sell me something, but as it turned out she was being genuine. I mentioned that I had considered buying a suit and before I knew it she was grabbing me by the hand and leading me across the market to her cousin's shop where I could get an excellent suit made. Before I know it I had picked out two fabrics and was handing over my credit card to get suits custom made. I got 2 suits and three dress shirts for about $175, which is an amazing deal, plus they are custom made for my body. After making my purchase I immediately regretted it since it was so spontaneous and I didn't even know if the suits were going to be high quality or not. But the next day when I tried them on and saw how good they looked on my, I knew I made the right decision.



Since then, I've had a few other funny experiences in Hoi An. After trying on my suit I was in the suave GQ metrosexual mood so I decided to buy myself some nice cologne. As I walked through the market, a lady yelled at me to buy from her and asked me what I was looking for. I told her and she grabs me by the hand and takes me to her friends stall. For the next 20 minutes she tries to help me pick out a cologne as I spray her and myself. I don't like any of the colognes, but end up buying to pairs of boxer shorts that turned out to be too small and some shower gel that I actually needed. After buying all that stuff I walked through the market some more and realized that I needed a haircut. I was considering going to a place near the hotel when a lady started talking to me again, trying to get me to buy some T-shirts. I mentioned to her that I had to get a haircut and she grabs me by the arm and leads me across the market to her friends massage parlor. See a pattern here? The lady there yells at me "My husband will give you haircut, he's very good!" Two seconds later, the husband appears on a motorbike and tells me "Its two minutes away, hop on!" I try to resist, but the Vietnamese are very convincing and the next thing I know I'm riding on the back of this guy's bike across town to some back alley haircut place that he apparently owns. I bartered him down to 40,000 dong for the haircut, but ended up giving him the whole 50,000 because he did a pretty good job.



















All those experiences and interactions with the friendly locals really left me with a good feeling about the entire area. Its really funny how everyone knows everyone and people just lead me around, convincing me to buy stuff.








































In addition to buying clothes that I may or may not actually need, I rented a motorbike again and drove all over the town and countryside. It was so much fun. We had 4 bikes between the 6 of us and we gunned it down the street on the outskirts of town. I was probably only going about 50 mph but it felt a lot faster with the wind in my face. We drove out into the countryside and got to see what Vietnam is really like: 80% of the population lives in small villages and farms for a living. The kids would wave and yell "hello" at us as we went past. The fun day was dampened a bit when my tour guide got arrested and had her bike confiscated for driving down the wrong side of the street, driving without registration and driving without a license. The penalty wasn't that bad, only a few hundred thousand dong, but it scared me enough to call it a day even though I had half a tank of gas still left.

























After spending a few days in beautiful Hoi An, we drove to De Nang and caught a short plane trip to Ho Chi Minh City. On the plane ride I fell asleep and right after we woke up our plane slammed into something and everything shook. I thought I was done for, but then realized we were just landing. It took me about 5 minutes before my heart fully calmed down from that traumatic incident.



Ho Chi Minh City is insane. HCM is extremely hot and humid, kind of like Bangkok. A few minutes after leaving my air conditioned hotel I would be drenched with sweat. There are ten million people in the city and at anytime I would guess nine million of them are driving around on their motorbikes, clogging the roads. I didn't think anything could top Hanoi, but Ho Chi Minh city definitely falls in that category. We were only there for a day in a half but I managed to wander into the biggest traffic jam known to mankind outside of a school right as classes got out. Parents were picking up their kids and it was pure chaos. Even the locals didn't dare venture out into the madness to try and cross the street.



We went to the Museum of War Remnants (formerly the Museum of American War Crimes). It consisted mostly of photographs of the war and surprisingly showed both sides of the conflict. It wasn't very informational, but as they say a picture speaks a thousand words. It was really strange to see all these pictures of the fighting and then read where it took place: Hanoi, Saigon, Hue, De Nang.... all places that I have traveled to on this trip. Like I said before its so hard to fathom that such horrific fighting and violence took place in all of these beautiful and interesting places that I have been to. Another interesting exhibit in the museum was a section on different countries protesting the Vietnam War. There were countries from all over the world displaying displeasure with the war and the US involvement. They even showed actual protests in the US and the incident in Ohio when the National Guard killed four protesters. I'm glad that the US protesters were recognized because it shows that there is an understanding of the distinction between the governmental actions and the beliefs and attitudes of the citizens of the country. It was especially difficult to look at the pictures of the My Lai massacre and the victims of agent orange mutations. But it is good that they were displayed so that people can be reminded of the horrors of war and how it can terribly warp the human spirit to carry out such atrocities. In addition to the War Museum we visited the Cu Chi tunnels. It was an hour and a half out of the way and I wasn't sure if it was worth driving that far to see a few holes in the ground, but it turned out to be well worth it. Our guide was an interesting character who served in the war with the Americans and spent five years in a re-education camp after the war ended. He didn't speak to us, but rather yelled...in a friendly, energetic way that is. I understood about 60% of what he said, but he was still very informative. It was amazing to see this vast network of tunnels and booby traps that the Viet Cong utilized during the war. They created a larger version of the tunnels for tourists to experience, but it was still too cramped, hot and dark for me to venture inside. I can't imagine living in the tunnels for months at a time.


























I was happy to be leaving Ho Chi Minh because it is such a dirty, hot and overcrowded town. It was nice to experience it for a day, but that was enough for me. Yesterday we said goodbye to Vietnam and boarded a bus bound for Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I was kind of sad to leave Vietnam because I really enjoyed the people and I was there for almost 10 days so I had grown accustomed to the culture and the language. I know how to say I'm drunk, cheers, rice wine, I am happy, I love it here, hello, goodbye, thank you, too expensive, go away, and you are beautiful. A few more weeks and I would be nearly fluent.




My first impression of Cambodia is that the people are very poor (this picture doesn't really capture that statement, but just take my word for it). There are a lot of beggers living on the streets. There are even families with small children in babies who sleep on the street and look very unhealthy. It is sad to see so much poverty all out in the open but that is a fact of life in a third world country. It is even hotter than HCM and the infrastructure is severely lacking. There are large piles of garbage in the streets and it reeks of raw sewage in certain ares.



Today we travled to the Tuol Sleng Prison here in town. This is the main prison area that the Khmer Rouge used to interrogate, torture and starve more than 17,000 people during their reign of terror between 1975-1979. For those of you that aren't familiar with Cambodian history, the Khmer Rouge was an extremist communist regime that came to power in 1975 and carried out the genocide of nearly 2 million Cambodians in an attempt to rid the country of the educated class and revert the people back to an agrarian farming community of the stone age. During this time, 1 in 5 Cambodians were killed by Khmer Rouge. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the prison was turned into a museum to document the genocide and atrocities that were committed there. It consited of pictures of all the people staring into the camera, moments before their were executed. There were also some very graphic pictures of tortue and mutilation. It was pretty difficult to take all this in, but it was also a really informative experience. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and very thorough. He lost 5 brothers and sisters and his father to the Khmer Rouge, yet he was able to speak with amazing clarity and detachment about this dark period of Cambodian history. Despite his veneer of detachment, I sensed glimpses of torment and rage as he walked us through the prison and spoke in detail about how prisoners were raped, tortured, killed and starved all in the name of a bizarre and horrific idealogy.



After the prison, we went to the Killing Fields, which is the spot where the guards shipped the prisoners to be murdered and then dumped in mass graves. There were still remnents of bone and clothing as we walked through the fields which consisted of large craters were the mass graves were dug up. In the center of the field was a memorial pagoda containing hundreds of skulls found in the fields.

It was an emotionally draining and deppressing day, but I'm glad that I experienced it because it reminds me that horrible things really do happen, but hopefully we can learn from them. Before booking this trip, I had never heard of what happened here and I don't think a lot of other people my age know about it either. But after today I really want to learn more about it, how these people came to power, why they committed these atrocities and what was done to punish them.

Tomorrow we are flying to Siam Reap where the famous Angkor Wat temples are located. The tour is almost over and I still have not figured out what I'm going to do afterwards. I have 2-3 weeks. Originally I planned on staying just in Thailand but now I'm thinking it would be nice to see a few other countries, plus plane tickets within Southeast Asia are usually pretty cheap. I'm thinking maybe Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia or the Philippines, or all of the above. If anyone has any feedback or has travled to those countries, let me know what you think. I appreciate everyone's support and comments...the next time I update I'll probably be back in Bangkok. Talk to you later!

Vietnam...

Greetings from Hanoi, Vietnam. Before I even got to the city, I made the comment that people drive like maniacs in Vietnam. Now that I'm in the city I've realized that the people here trancsend the word "maniac" and have actually created a higher strata of reckless driving that I never thought was possible. The roads are narrow for a city and motorbikes are EVERYWHERE! It is way more chaotic than even Bangkok. Bikes go in every direction with no regard for traffic laws or a western view of common sense. When I first saw it, I was amazed that people don't get killed everyday from collisions. But after observing it for a few days and even experiencing it first hand on the back of a bike, I've realized that there actually is an order to the chaos. There are unwritten laws of the road which govern the flow of the traffic. I suppose people are used to this way of driving, so it's not even a big deal to them. The concept of personal space while you are driving is a foreign notion here. People come within inches of hitting each other or slamming into cars head on. And from what I hear, this is nothing compared to Ho Chi Minh City. Crossing the street is the tricky part. No one pays attention to the little green man telling you to walk, so you pretty much just have to slowly walk out there and people will avoid hitting you...kind of like wading through water, the water will flow around you. Anyway, enough about the crazy traffic here, I'll catch everyone up on when I last left.....

From Ninh Binh, we took a minibus up to Halong Bay. It is a world famous site in Vietnam consisting of huge rock formations all over this bay of water connecting to the ocean. My group got our own boat and we spent the afternoon looking at the rock formations, visiting massive caves and climbing to the top of a hill with a temple. The area is very toursity and there were hundreds of boats around, it was almost like Houseboats, Vietnam style but with less irresponsible college students involved. The scenery was beautiful but the weather was a litte overcast and cloudy. It was a very relaxing time, nonetheless. It was a good opportunity to kick back and take a deep breath before entering into the madness of Hanoi, the Capital of Vietnam.

HANOI

Despite the chaos of the road, Hanoi is a very beautiful city. It has the feel of a smaller town because the narrow streets that are lined with trees. There is a lake in the heart of the city which is next to the large market area known as the French Quarter. This area is similar to a Chinatown, with each street selling a specific item such as bags, shirts, shoes, sunglasses, motorcycle parts and just about anything you could think of. When I embarked on the 15 minute walk from the hotel to the french quarter. There's nothing I can do to hide the fact that I'm a tourist, so I just embraced it. With my map in one hand and my camera in the other I ventured out into the foreign land of Hanoi. When I arrived at the french quarter I was struck how aggressive everyone was, especially after being in Laos for 5 days. People see me and instantly start yelling at me to buy shit from them. Anything from fruit to dried fish to hats to books to sweatshirts. At first I had fun with them and even bought some crap that I didn't really want. But after half a day of constantly being harassed, I started to get very annoyed. People will just not leave me alone. To make matters worse I ended up getting lost and then buying a crappy map from some guy on the street for way too much money. I then took a motorbike home and the guy tried to rip me off and ask for 150,000 dong when we agreed on one US dollar (15,000 dong). I knew the guy was kind of shady but I was desperate for a ride. I was disappointed in myself for not trusting my gut and being street smart. These experiences put me in a very negative mood about this place, the entire trip and people in general. I realized that this at that moment it was exactly the halfway point of my tour and that it was a time of reckoning for me. I decided to push on foward and stay positive by forgetting the negative experiences and reminding myself that the majority of the people here are warm and friendly and have a kind heart. With this in mind, I took a relaxing shower followed by a muscle melting massage. I felt great afterwards and much more positive about the city.

Here I am outside of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum wearing my Vietnam flag shirt after viewing the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh himself. The entire experience was absolutely surreal. The wait was about 45 minutes and the security was extremely high. Cameras and bags were absolutely forbidden. We had to go through a metal detector and a pat down before even getting in line. As we got closer to the mausoleum we saw the guards (decked out in their communist military uniform) ordered us to be silent and take off our hats. We filed into the building in complete silence and made our way down a hallway that got darker and darker. Finally we made it to the room of the body. The room was dimly lit, with only the body illuminated. The body was in a rectangular glass case with a stoic gaurd on each corner. The body itself actually looked like Ho Chi Minh. It had the appearance of a wax figure. Covering the entire wall behind Ho Chi Minh was a gigantic Vietnam flag next to a communist flag bearing the famous hammer and sickle. The fact that everyone was silent, that there were four communist gaurds standing absolutely still, the dim lighting and the fact that I was looking at the body of such an historically influential man who has been dead for more than thirty years all contributed to the aburdity of the situation. People here worship Minh like a god. His face is on all the bank notes and statues of the man can be found everywhere. I really don't know much about him or the things he stood for, but he has no doubt had a huge impact on the history of Vietnam. Ironically enough, he requested that to be cremated and have his ashes split up into thirds, one part to be spread in North, Central and South Vietnam. But despite his requests he was immortalized by the people of Vietnam to be forever worhsiped and idolized.

This picture is from the Vietnam Military Museum. It is remains of American fighter planes and tanks that were collected from the war. The fact that America was at war with Vietnam only about thirty years ago remains a constant thought on my mind during my time here. I understand the basics of the war, but I don't feel like I have a firm understanding of how it went down. I'm currently readnig a really interesting book about the war which should help me understand the reasons that it turned out the way it did. Hanoi itself was heavily bombed during the war. It is amazing that this place is now a tourist attraction which millions of American's visit every year. Can anyone imagine Iraq being a tourist destination 30 years from now? For the people who were involved in the war, it is probably even more difficult to accept the fact that Vietnam has opened its doors for Americans. The general consensus that I am getting by talking to the people here is that they try to not dwell on the past, but rather look toward the future. I'm sure all the tourism is helping the Vietnamese economy. I've told many people that I'm American and I haven't received one negative response.

Here I am eating in a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. I like Vietnamese food the best so far. The authentic restaurants are extremely dirty, have shitty plastic chairs that are too small (which makes me feel like I'm in Kindergarten again) and reak of rotting fish. Yet the food is mouthwateringly delicious. I'm becoming a master with chopsticks and I like the way the Vietnamese eat; they hold the bowl up to their mouths and shovel in food at a rapid rate.

There are heaps of ladies like this on the street who carry too baskets with food in them attached to a piece of branch slung over their shoulder. I was taking a picture of the stature in the background today, when the lady just comes up to me and puts the thing on my shoulder and sticks the cap on my head and takes a picture. She then expects me to buy a bushel of banannas for her. I ask her for one single bananna and she gives me three demands 50,000 dong. I give her 5,000 and she frowns and says 50 again. She finally concedes and takes my 5 and gives me a dirty look and walks away. Like I said before, the people are very aggressive here and grab me and yell at me to get my attention. They are usually friendlier than this lady and have a good nature about bartering. Sometimes I'll make my offer so low that they will just start laughing at me or give me an exaggerated sad, pouty look. After buying stuff from one lady, the next day she recognized me and jokingly asked me to buy more shirts. Its usually pretty fun to barter, but like I said before it can get very annoying when people are too agressive. I've learned to just flat out ignore people when they try to get my attention. But if I'm interested in the product I will have fun with the game and I usually enjoy talking to the people.

Well I could babble on for another couple of hours but you can see by the increasingly disorganized style of writing I am getting hungry and the lack of glucose in my body is affecting my cognitive abilities. Therefore I will put post up a bunch of random pictures since the connection here is really fast. Enjoy.

Journey Down the Mekong

I am writing this post from Ninh Binh, Vietnam. Since the last post I have been traveling through Laos and enjoying the beautiful scenery and friendly atmosphere that the country has to offer.

Here is a picture of my group heading onto our boat that would be home for the next 2 days. We floated down the Mekong river at a very relaxed pace. The river is surprisingly narrow and moves at a very slow speed. The scenery is beautfiul; there are rolling hills of green with vegetation overflowing. The boat ride was pretty relaxing: we played cards, read, napped and just enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a nice break from the faster pace of thailand that we had been experiencing for the past 3-4 days. We stopped in a few tiny towns and villages on the way which was a very interesting experience. The villages are so isolated and tucked away in the hills, it is amazing that people actually lived there. The facilities are very basic but at the same time there are satellite dishes everywhere... a very interesting dichotomy.



Eventually we made it to the magical town of Luang Prabang, Laos. It used to be the capital city a long time ago. It is very clean and everyone rides around the town on bicycles. It has a very ancient, mystical feel to it. It actually reminds me of Davis a bit because of all the bikers and the small town atmosphere. The locals are very friendly. I would wave at everyone and smile and say "Sa Bai Dee" (hello) and they would always give me a huge smile and wave back. We spent about 2 days in the town, exploring the temples, markets and local nightlife. We also got a chance to go on a 3 hour hike through the countryside and check out an amazing waterfall with pristine blue water and breathtaking scenery.




Next, we went to Vientiene, the capital city of Laos. The laid back attitude and friendly nature of the locals was similar to Luang Prabang, but the magic was missing. The city was hot and dirty, like Bangkok but not as crowded. Open sewers lined the streets and there was a massive renovation project to modernize the system. Our hotel bathroom reaked of raw sewage. Other than that, the city was very fun. The highlight of my time there was riding a motorbike around the city. The only motorized bike I've riden has been my brother Tom's motorized bicycle. The bike was amazing. I was nervous at first because I didn't know what the hell I was doing and how to control the bike, but I quickly got the hang of it. The rush of weaving in and out of traffic in a busy southeast asian city is unbelievable. I was careful to follow the lead of the locals and not go faster than them or act in a bizzare manner. The highlight of my adventures on the bike was when I accidently went into the crosswalk slightly during a red light. I instantly hear a loud whistle and to my horror I see a very pissed off official that looks like some sort of army policeman. He has a stern look on his face and is beckoning me to come towards him. Knowing that Laos is a communist country, I don't hesitate to pull the bike over and comply with whatever is in store for me. He immidiately asks for my liscence and pulls me into this vestibule with the other officers. In broken english he tells me I went into the crosswalk and points to a building and repeats "office! office!" I have no idea what the hell this guy is talking about. Thoughts are racing through my head that he wants me to go to the American Embassy before I can get my liscence back or even worse, he is about to take me to some delapitaded prison cesspool where disgruntled communist officials can torture me for sport. Luckily, none of these things happened. I gave the man a confused look, and then he said under his breath "$10" and motioned toward the bench he was sitting on. Without hesitating, I slipped him the $10 and immidiately he gave me a big grin, shook my hand and thanked me. I was instantly relieved, thanked him in Lao and was on my way. The thrill of bribing an police officer in a third world country was almost as exciting as driving around on a bike in traffic.

Laos is a really cool place. Everyone is very laid back and extremely friendly. It is rare not to see a smiling face when greeting someone. It is also not as heavily packed with tourists as Thailand. I have a feeling that will change in the next ten years, but as of now, it really is a hidden jewel of southeast asia.

I've been in Vietnam for approximately 6 hours, but I can already notice a huge difference between this place and Laos. The people are much more agressive and abrupt. They are still very friendly and welcoming from what I've seen. They also drive like complete maniacs, contstantly passing each other on the roads and honking their horns as a "friendly warning" to the other cars on the road. It is definitely a culture shock from the chill atmosphere of Laos, but it is a welcome change as I feel the need for some more excitement which I have no doubts that Vietnam will provide excitement and much more.

Up Country

Soh wah dee kahp! Thanks everyone for your comments, I'm glad people enjoy my blog. Right now I am in the tiny river town of Chiang Kong, overlooking the Mekong River into the country of Laos. It has a great small town feel and the locals are very friendly.

A sculpture of a chinese warrior outside a temple in Bangkok. There are temples everywhere here as Buddhism is the dominant religion practiced. There were hordes of tourists walking through the temple and taking pictures as people were inside the temple praying to Buddha. I felt uncomfortable being in such a spirtual place where all of these people were taking tons of pictures like they were observing animals at a zoo. Anyway, the temples are amazingly elaborate buildings with wonderfully diverse colors and sculptures. They are 1,000's of temples all over Thailand and I will be seeing many on my trip.

Here are am hanging out with some friendly Thai's on an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The group made our way to the "disco car" which consisted of a section of the train with music, drinks and even a disco bar. Our group headed into the car and after a few drinks we took over the sound system and played our own selection of music. The image of us and a bunch of Thai's dancing to the tunes "Sexyback" and "Holla Back Girl" will be forever engrained in my mind. Needless to say it was a blast. It was also really interesting to talk to some Thai's about their thoughts on America, George Bush and American football. They are very friendly people and really know how to have fun.















Kate and I rode this elephant through the jungle of the Chaing Mai province. Chang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, but it has the feel of a small beach town. The pace of life is very laid back and relaxed. It was a welcome escape from the chaos of Bangkok. The elephant ride was an unbelievable experience. The elephants are such gentle, graceful and enormous creatures. The tribal guide balanced on the elephants head and used his native language and a rod to control the elephant on our trip. It was so much fun. Afterwards we dined on some delicious pad thai at the elephant compound and headed to the river for a rafting expidition on narrow bamboo rafts. The rafting was almost more fun than the elephants. Our native guides were drunk and hilariuos as they jokingly tried to fight me Mui Thai style and splashed each other's rafts as we went down the river. We saw elephants bathing in the water toward the end of our trip which was so cool. The entire day only cost about $30-40 which included food and drinks. It really struck me how laid back Thailand is. We didn't have to sign any waviers to ride the elephants and rafts even though they were pretty dangerous. People just don't worry about stuff like getting sued as they do in America. Also, despite the erratic driving behavior of Thais, they are so calm on the road.

A temple we visited on the way to Chaing Kong. It was all white and absolutely beautiful.

Leaving my mark in a small restaurant in Chiang Kong. Notice the use of Northern California slang. I had to differentiate myself from all the Australian and English wankers that I'm with. On that topic, I'm getting an education in Australian and English slang, which is pretty cool. By the time I'm done with the trip I should be fluent in their crazy way of talking.

Time to go meet up with the group for some Karoke. Tomorrow I leave Thailand and cross the river into Laos and then spend 2 days on the Mekong as we make our way to Luang Prabang. See you next time...

An Alien Land

THAILAND...

Greetings from Bangkok! Currently I am in the heart of Chinatown in a small internet cafe surrounded by Thai teenagers playing World of Warcraft. These past few days have been an amazing experience. There is so much to talk about I don't even know where to begin. I have a limited amount of time here on the internet so I'm going to attempt to just type what comes to my mind. It may not be the most organized or coherent or properly spelled, so please excuse me. It will also be quite long and rambling, so if you want to skip ahead, be my guest.

ARRIVING IN BANGKOK

The journey from Moraga to Bangkok took about 27 hours. Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted by the time I arrived. As I walked off the plane, it finally hit me: I am in a completely foreign world. Farther away than any place I have ever been before. A lot is the same, but so much is different. It would be impossible to describe all the minute differences, but it is definitely different. I made it through customs and the lady gave me a rose and welcomed me to Thailand. My positive first impression of her has remained quite accurate during my time here. I wandered outside in a terrified daze from the lack of sleep and the culture shock. A man instantly approached me and said he would take me to Bangkok for 800 Baht. (Note: 1 dollar equals about 35 Baht, so you can do the math whenever I mention Baht). It was obviously a rip off and quite shady, but in my sleep deprived state I almost fell for it. At the last minute I smartened up and found the actual spot where everyone finds a taxi. I got in the taxi no problem and of course the driver did not speak english. I showed him the map of my hotel and he looked confused. We eventually got on the freeway to head to the city. It was dark and no one was around (due to the bombs that were set off earlier in the night). We finally arrived at the hotel room 45 minutes later becuase the driver was "lost". I've learned that taxi drivers often pretend to be lost to jack up the meter price. As we drove through dark alleyways in an attempt to find the hotel, I was got more and more nervous that the driver was going to shoot me and take all my money.

DAY 1: "Holy Crap I'm In Bankgok"

I slept approximately 6 hours that night, and awoke at 8 am in an attempt to combat the jet leg. I explored the hotel for a bit, went for a swim and did some suntanning (burning) on the roof. It wasn't until about noon that I worked up enough courage to leave the safety zone of my hotel and venture into the absolute chaos that is Bangkok. I purchased a map and attempted to improvise a short route around the block to aquaint myself with the city. I loaded up on sunscreen, secured my valuables and mustered up all the courage I could as I embarked on my expidition. I made my way to the main drag surrounding the hotel and instantly noticed that I was the only non-thai around. As I walked through the city, I tried to take in as much as I could. It was a complete assualt on the senses: Honking horns, pollution, tuk-tuk drivers, motobikes, people selling shit EVERYWHERE. The city is so diverse: some buildings are extremely modern and westerenized, other buidlings are run down and falling apart. There are abandoned buildings all over the place. The line between residence and business does not even exist. Half the time I didn't know a guy sitting in his garage was selling something or if he was just hanging out. In the area where I was walking around, there was no white people. I had this image of Bangkok as this tourist hub where foreigners outnumber natives and english is spoken as often as Thai. That is not the case at all (not counting major tourist sites). English is spoken and understood, but the level is very low for the most part. It is often extremely difficult to communicate. Especially when I got away from the main areas, no one speaks english whatsover. That was quite a shock to me as well. There is so much more to decribe about the city, but I'll get back to the story. At this point I felt so awkward, out of place, terrified and excited...all at the same time. I didn't want to stop and take pictures for fear of standing out as a "tourist", of course that was pointless because anyone can tell I'm a foreigner from a mile away. I made my way in one big circle around the hotel. I did not talk to anyone, I didn't go into any shops, I didn't take any pictures and I was soaking wet with sweat from the heat and humidity. It was a good way to ease myself into this city. I took a break to cool off, consulted my map once again, and decided to give it another shot. This time I actually stopped to take some pictures. I even went into a restaurant to order some food. Each time I went back out, I became braver and braver and felt less out of place. I even got on a tuk-tuk (see picture, its basically a tricycle with a motor and seats in the back).

DAY 2: Lost In Chinatown

The next day I moved to another hotel where I would spend the night and meet up with the group the next evening. As I checked into the new hotel, an Australian girl my age named Kate was also checking in and I noticed that she had Intrepid vouchers as I did. She is very fun and outgoing, and her Australian accent makes her even cooler. We quickly realized we were on the same tour and decided to go explore the city together. We were in the Chinatown area of the city. Chinatown is similar to other Chinatowns (San Fran, Chicago, etc.) in the sense that people sell stuff, but it is so different in other aspects. First of all it is completely and utterly packed, the streets are cramped with people selling every imaginable product, from bat wings, to machetes, to motorcicle parts, to washing machines. Every now and then I would spot a tourist but for the most part everyone was a local. After about an hour of wandering around we got bored and decided to come back to the hotel. Long story short, we got lost and it took us another 2 hours to get back.

That night, Kate and I decided to venture into the notorious "Backpacker's Ghetto" known as Khaosan Road. It was quite a spectacle. All sorts of stands selling food, imitation clothing, jewelry, bags, fake IDs, music and anything else you could possibly fathom. We honed our bargaining skills and bought a few pieces of cheap jewelry and T-shirts. I've never really had experience bartering with people, but I think I finally have the hang of it. The price the vendors quote is always way high. Immidiately offer half of what they start off with. Another key is to be willing to walk away. A few times I said a price and they tried to get me to go higher, so I walked away. Seconds later I would hear them calling at me in agreement with my price. Bargaining is a lot of fun now that I've gotten the hang of it. Anyway, there were people from all parts of the world congregating on this one street packed with bars, food stands and street vendors. Anyone visiting Bangkok should definitely check it out.

DAY 3: "I think I've got the hang of this...."

The next day, Kate and I decided to get a "Traditional Thai Massage" (that means that it is legitimate, no shady business going on). We wanted to check out the skytrain and the subway system so we used that to get to our massage parlor that was reccommended in my lonely planet book. I was absolutely amazed at how modern and new the facilities are. The entire floor was marbled and air conditioned with immaculate cleanliness. It was 10 times better than the Manhattan subway system and about 5 times better than BART. It was also very easy to get around; we had no problem getting to our destination and back. I was pretty nervous getting the massage because I didn't know what to expect. The Thai's use pressure points and stretching techniques to give their massages. I found it to be actually quite painful at times, but very relaxing during others. It was an interesting experience, but I probably won't be doing it again.

That evening we met up with the tourgroup. There is no real age limit for these tours, so anyone can sign up. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that everyone was between 20-30. There are 7 Australians, 2 English, 1 Canadien, 1 Irish, and I am the lone American. Everyone is easygoing and fun so I think it will be an amazing trip. Its cool that there are people from all over the world, and the accents are so interesting. At times I have trouble understanding them, but I'm getting better.

DAY 4: Klongs and Train To Chang Mai

Today we went along the river that goes through the city (Klong) on a longtailed boat. At times the Klong is as narrow as a street and there are houses lined on either side. It feels as if a normal street was flooded with water. The houses are all on stilts and fishermen fish in the water even though it is very poluted. The architecture is so diverse as I said before. Some houses are amazingly modern, new and beautiful, others are decrepid and falling apart.

Well, I'm running out of time and I'm beginning to realize that its too much work to tell every detail of my experience here so I'm going to write some thoughts about some random topics:

THE PEOPLE

The people here are extremely warm and friendly. People smile a lot and are often offer to help tourists who are lost or confused. When I first arrived at the airport and ate at the cafeteria, I had no idea what to do with my dish when I was done. I stood up and looked confused and some Thai girls smiled at me and motioned for me to leave it here.

Locals don't seem to take much notice of foreigners, probably because they see so many due to tourism being one of the main economies here. I've gotten a few looks in certain areas that are less populated with tourists, but for the most part I seem to go unnoticed.

With that being said, there are also tons of con artists and scammers who try to empty the pockets of trusting tourists. The scammers use charm and friendliness to get your money, never use strongarm tactics.

Locals also have a great sense of humor and despite the language barrier. Many times I would find myself cracking up with the locals as we played the bartering game. The Tuk-Tuk drivers are a lot of fun too, they will usually go fast and weave in and out of traffic to impress the riders and show the foreigners a good time.

There is an abundance of people in the service and tourism industry. It is common to see 4-5 people hovering around in a half empty restaurant waiting to service the customer: take away their plate, get them more food or drinks, etc. There is also an abundance of poverty. People survive on what is so little compared to what we make in America. It makes me thankful for what I have.

THE ATMOSPHERE

Bangkok is extremely Westernized. I realized this yesterday morning as I sat inside a KFC, listening to the Black Eyed Peas and looking out the window at the 7-11's, Starbucks and MacDonalds that I could see in the distance. It is amazing how much influence American culture has on the people here. With that being said, there is still a strong sense of Nattionalism with the Thai people and they respect their king with very high reverence. Buddha is number one with the royal family coming in a close second.

The traffic is nothing like I've ever experienced before. Lanes, traffic signals and crosswalks merely serve as a suggestion that people rarely follow. Motorcylces weave in and out of traffic, cars change lanes without notice and often just drift from one lane to the next. I always expend a great amount of effort and focus when I walk around the city to ensure that I don't get distracted while I'm crossing the street and get taken out by a crazed taxi driver.

While it is extremely chaotic and lawless, there is a certain flow and coherence to all the madness. The locals seem so relaxed and easygoing as they brave the traffic and weave in between cars to cross the street. I have yet to see an accident here even though cars often come within inches of hitting each other. I could not handle driving around this city, not only is it chaotic and stressful, they drive on the left side of the road to further complicate matters.

The order, safety and protocol of America is completely lacking here. For example in America you don't have to worry about people constantly trying to rip you off and squeeze every extra penny out of you. There are police officers at major tourist areas, but for the most part the people here police themselves. It doesn't seem like there is a lot of crime from what I can see and Thailand actually has special tourist police to make sure that the tourists are happy so they can continue to bring money into the country.

There are people selling stuff everywhere. And they are very aggressive sellers. They treat Westerners as a walking ATM machine, but are never too pushy. It is amazing to see all these people on the street selling watches, fruit, noodles, bags, etc. I wonder how they make a living and where all the goods come from.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I was very nervous and wary when I first arrived, but at this point I feel completely comfortable in the city. I feel safe (because I'm bigger than everyone), I'm confident in my bartering skills, I can spot a guy trying to rip me off and I understand the way things work around here.

So far I am having an absolutely amazing time. I really love Thailand from everything that I have seen: the people, the places, the culture, everything. And I still really have not experienced the "real" Thailand since I've only been in Bangkok.It is so much fun to explore a new area and culture and meet new people. This trip has already surpassed my expectations and I have a feeling that it will only get better. My group leader is fun and down to earth, and all the other people on the tour with me seem to be very cool and fun as well.

This blog only covered a fraction of my thoughts and experiences, but it has taken me way too long to write and I have to go back to meet up with the tourgroup now. We are catching an overnight train up to Chang Mai (about 14 hours away). At this point I am ready to leave the madness of Bangkok to check out a slightly smaller and less crowded town.

Hope everyone at home is doing well, more updates to come....

P.S. This computer is doing some weird stuff with the formating of the blog, so if it looks all bunched together, thats not my fault, I blame the computer.