Save Will

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:29:43 -0800

Woke up earlier than I expected, at about 8:30 a.m. Read my Laos guidebook about the northern area to plan where to go next. Decided to go to the Plain of Jars next, and then to the wild debauchery of Vang Vieng. Walked around town with my guidebook and saw all the temples that I had missed the day before. Met a couple novice monks, Joy and Sing, and talked with them for about an hour. Sing was 19 and wanted to quit the temple life and enroll in a university. He wanted tips for flirting with girls and wanted to know about my dating life. It was very amusing. In the late afternoon I felt tired, so I returned to my hostel and rested for a bit, then went to the night market for dinner. Ran into Michelle and her friend and I ate with them and a guy from Australia who also sat with us. Bought some more banana bread on my way back to my hostel. Caught up on my blog and got my stuff ready to go in the morning.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:21:09 -0800

My birthday! Let myself sleep in. Tried to call my parents, but the wifi wasn’t working. Walked into downtown and rented a bicycle for 10,000 kip. Rode around town looking at some temples. Stopped at a cafe for a Coke to cool off and use their wifi to call my parents and Tess. Continued riding around town and saw a a couple more temples. Returned the bicycle and ran into Matteo. Walked with him a little and then parted ways to go to Utopia to treat myself to a delicious dinner of steak, fries, salad, fried spring rolls, a mai tai, a mojito, and a large Beer Laos. Bernard and Jenny joined me again and we sat and drank and chatted all evening. We walked back to the hostel together, and then Bernard and I walked to the night market to buy some fruit-flavored bread for dessert. He and Jenny were leaving town the next day, but I had decided to stay an extra day. They were getting up early to see the monks collect food donations before leaving, and I thought about doing that too. We all went to bed. I had trouble falling asleep, so I decided to skip the monk stuff in the morning at sleep in instead. It’s my birthday, after all.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:12:47 -0800

Rode a minibus with Aimee, Glenn, Nic, Sara, Dan, Sylvia, Michelle, and Ingo to the gorgeous Kuang Si waterfalls. Took lots of pictures, swam, swung on a rope and jumped off a small cliff into the icy blue water. Hiked up to all the different pools and falls. Got lost coming down the other side of the falls and ended up taking the long way back to the bottom of the falls. Returned to the hostel. Hiked Phou Si hill for a view of Luang Prabang at sunset with a girl from my dorm named Monica (from Australia). Walked with Monica to another popular bar and lounge I’d heard about called Utopia. Ate dinner and drank beers and chatted with Monica, her friends, and Bernard (from Austria) and Jenny (from Finland), who were also from our dorm. Walked home when curfew closed the bar and chatted with Bernard and Jenny a little more around a campfire at the hostel.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:04:41 -0800

Ate another American breakfast and got a sandwich to go for lunch on the slow boat. Boarded at 8:30 a.m. and sat and waited for the stragglers to arrive. Departed around 9:30 a.m. Sat with Aimee (from Austin, Texas) and we chatted for a while. I also read and listened to a couple podcasts and some music. The scenery was again very beautiful. This time my seat was much more cramped, but still the time passed quickly enough. We arrived in Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos (rhymes with cow, not mouse), and Aimee and I took a tuk tuk to our hostel, Spicylaos. Walked with Aimee, Shelley, Glenn, and Matteo to the night market and ate a cheap dinner on the street for 10,000 kip (remember, I’m a multi-millionaire here). We crossed over the ridge of Phou Si hill near the market as a shortcut to a popular bar and lounge we had heard about called Laos Laos Garden. We ordered buckets there and hung out for an hour or so. The group decided to go dancing or bowling, I can’t recall which, and I headed for the toilet quickly before we left. I was gone for only a minute, but in that time everyone had piled into a tuk tuk and was gone. I found myself unexpectedly alone and decided to make my way back to the hostel and call it a night.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:55:49 -0800

No hot water for my shower, and there was a breeze from a fan when I turned on the shower light, so I skipped the shower except for a light rinse. Ate an American breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. Shared a tuk tuk to the river boat pier at 9:30 a.m. Boarded around 10 a.m. and sat waiting to depart for an hour or two as others trickled on board. Listened to podcasts the whole time and watched the beautiful landscape roll by. Arrived in Pakbeng at around sunset. Hauled my gear up the hill and looked at a couple places before deciding on a somewhat pricey place at 300 baht for the night. The mattress was nice and soft for my poor back. Ate dinner with Aimee, an American from Austin, Texas, that I had met before boarding the boat, and her friends Shelley, Glenn, and Matteo, and their friends Alex and Mary. Returned to my hotel to shower and shave. Computer time until bed time. I had heard they shut off the electricity to the city at 10 p.m., but this wasn’t the case.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:48:00 -0800

Awoke still sick with a bad back. Ate a cheap lunch at a local restaurant. Rode the bus to Chiang Khong at the Thailand–Laos border. Shared a tuk tuk with a guy to the Mekong river shore and exited Thailand. Bought passage across the river and landed on the Laos shore. Paid the fee and entered the town of Huay Xai in Laos. Walked up the hill and looked at a few places and chose to stay at a nice hotel with wifi and air con. Found an ATM and withdrew a million kip (around US$100). Bought a Coke to cool off. Bought a slow boat ticket for 950 baht for the following morning. Hung out in my hotel room. Ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. My back was still thrown out. Computer time in my room.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:32:00 -0800

Woke up still feeling sick, and also felt like I had thrown my back out (the “mattresses” were really stiff). Showered, ate lunch, stayed in all day watching BSG, bought a bus ticket to Chiang Khong at the Thailand–Laos border, went out again for dinner, then returned to the hostel.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:22:17 -0800

Still sick and miserable. Slept in, showered, ate lunch, returned to my hostel and stayed inside all day, lying on my back watching Battlestar Galactica with my head angled up to reduce the running of my nose. Ate an expensive dinner at a pizza place nearby to try to cheer myself up.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:17:50 -0800

Awoke feeling sick again. Returned the scooter I had rented the day before. Checked out and rode a taxi truck to the Arcade bus terminal. Rode the bus to Chiang Rai for a few hours and listened to podcasts. Arrived and wandered around for ten minutes looking for my hostel. Checked in, ate lunch, then returned to my hostel and stayed inside on my bed the rest of the day feeling too sick to do anything. Ate dinner at the nearby night market feeling miserable. Sick twice in two weeks! What luck.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:14:10 -0800

Rented a scooter and rode it to Doi Suthep. On my way back, I came across a scooter accident that had just happened. The driver was a man from Nebraska named Paul. He was in really bad shape. All the skin on his right knee cap had been scraped off and he was bleeding heavily from his right arm. He took an antibacterial wipe and a clotting pad from my first aid kit and some toilet paper I had to soak up the blood from his arm. A very helpful Thai woman called an ambulance for him. I was reminded just how dangerous it was riding around on those things. Returned to the old quarter and then rode to Tiger Kingdom for some one-on-one time with some small and large tigers. Hired a photographer to take pictures of me with them. Returned to the old quarter again and then rode to the Arcade bus terminal to buy a bus ticket to Chiang Rai for the next day. Parked the scooter at the hostel, ate dinner, computer time, then bed.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:01:38 -0800

Went to the Elephant Nature Park and fed and washed elephants all day. I didn’t realize the way elephants are trained to be ridden and do tricks is so brutal and inhumane. Returned to the hostel and planned my next few days. Craved McDonalds, so I ate dinner there. Watched some Battlestar Galactica.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:53:38 -0800

Rented a bicycle and headed for the interior of the old quarter. Stopped to east some street food for lunch. Saw several temples. Rode to a neighborhood outside the old quarter that supposedly was a nice place to shop, but was sorely disappointed. Returned to the hostel for a couple hours. Ate dinner nearby. Rode my bicycle to the night market a few blocks away and browsed the stalls there for an hour or so. Returned to the hostel and went to bed.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:50:18 -0800

Ate an American breakfast at a restaurant across the street. Rode the minibus to the Ko Phuket airport and arrived at 1:30 p.m. Ate lunch at Burger King and then had four or so hours to kill. Drank some beers in a bar to use their free wifi. Flew to Chiang Mai at about 7:30 p.m. and arrived at about 9:30 p.m. Rode a taxi to my hostel, A Little Bird Guesthouse, in the old quarter of the city. Walked around the nearby streets a little, then returned and went to bed.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:46:59 -0800

Bought some lunch to go and put it in my day pack. Rode a long tail boat from Krabi to Railay East. Climbed to the vista point overlooking the Railay area. Ate my lunch while admiring the view. Tried to hike to a nearby lagoon, but it was too muddy. Walked to Railay West and went for a quick dip in the ocean and then laid on the sand and read for an hour or so. Got up and walked along the entire beach. It was even more beautiful at the other end. Storm clouds were gathering, so I arranged a long tail boat back to Krabi. It started raining heavily and ocean grew choppy, and I grew concerned about my camera and phone in my day pack; but everything stayed dry and we made it back in one piece. I arranged a minibus from my hostel to the Ko Phuket airport the following day to fly to Chiang Mai.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:41:27 -0800

Rode the ferry in the morning to Krabi. Met a girl my age from England named Louisa who had been teaching English in South Korea. We were both going to the same hostel. Checked in. Planned what to do the next day. Walked to see a nearby temple. Walked from the temple to a nearby night street market for a delicious dinner of street food. Returned to the hostel for some quality computer time.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:55:55 -0800

Got up early and had the showers to myself. Walked to the travel agency where I’d booked the boat tour and bought some bananas on the way. Was led to the boat tour company office, then to the pier, then to the boat itself and boarded. The tour wasn’t organized as well as the Angthong Marine Park one, so we didn’t really know where the next stop was, or how they would signal us that the boat was leaving when everyone was snorkeling. And no free Cokes. They did take us to all the places they promised, and it was all beautiful, and we had great weather. I saw Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh, better known as the beach from the movie The Beach. It was literally overrun with bodies, just totally ruined. It might be worth it to camp there overnight just so you can get the beach mostly to yourself. Actually, in the movie it looks much more secluded because they used graphics or something to make the bay opening look much narrower than it actually is. We went to Monkey Beach and I saw several tiny monkeys eating sugar packets and small fruits and attacking unwitting girls that weren’t paying attention. They were really cute and funny (because I wasn’t attacked). I ended up getting burned a little on my upper back and shoulders despite heaps of sunscreen because I switched from SPF 50 to 20 that day. The burns felt hot for several days after, but it wasn’t too bad. I met a Scottish girl about my age who was also going it alone and a nice couple from Austin. I can’t remember the names of all the beaches we saw, but there were about seven or eight of them. By the end, I could feel the burn on my back, and didn’t go out into the sun anymore. We returned to the Ko Phi Phi Don pier, and I showered, ate, bought a ferry ticket to Krabi, and then bought a beer and walked the beach a little, but there weren’t any fire dancers at the time, so I called it an early night again.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:36:31 -0800

Rode a minibus to a nearby pier and boarded a ferry bound for Ko Phi Phi. Was a little worried about my pack — as I usually am — after I stowed it on the deck like everyone else, but it was soon buried under a bunch of packs. Safety in numbers. Got off the boat without trouble a couple hours later. Wandered the streets of Tonsai Village for over an hour in the burning sun, sweat running down to my chin and in my eyes, looking for a dorm bed somewhere. The first three or four places I went to were full. I found a hotel room for 800 baht, but wasn’t ready to pay that just yet. I made another round of the streets and managed to find a dorm I had missed before and got a bed there for 300 baht. I wouldn’t call it a hostel; it was just a tattoo parlor with a dorm and showers attached. The dorm was open to the air, no air con, several fans, “mattresses” were hard as boards, and my torso was covered in small, red bites by the end. Showers were challenging. But it was cheap. Laid down my stuff, cooled off in a 7-11, then ate lunch. Returned to the dorm, changed into my swimsuit, and hung out at the nearby beach for a couple hours reading a book until the light faded. The tide was low and the water had gross bits floating in it. Booked a boat tour of the Ko Phi Phi islands. Bought a few Chang beers and wandered around town and up and down the beach watching the fire dancers and fire breathers. Called it an early night.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:09:18 -0800

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:

A really well-written review of the 2011 American movie by James Berardinelli.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:04:56 -0800

Arrived in Hanoi by sleeper bus feeling disheveled, greasy, and tired. The weather was gray and a tiny bit rainy. Wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. A motorbike taxi driver offered to take me to the Old Quarter, so I went with him. He took me to a travel agency there. Spoke with the agent inside and decided to go to Ha Long Bay first to ensure I had enough time to see it.

Booked transportation to Cat Ba island in Ha Long Bay at the travel agency and then went in search of breakfast. Someone showed up on a motorbike to take me to the bus, and I went with him, and then boarded the bus to Ha Long City.

At the pier, I boarded a tour boat and was stuck with them all day. The weather was still gray and a little rainy. Saw some of the stone karst islands in Ha Long Bay. Went with the boat tourists to see a large cave in one of the karsts.

The boat landed on Cat Ba island just after sunset in the dark. I boarded another bus and dozed a little until we arrived in Cat Ba City on the south shore. I went to the nearest hotel, followed by a couple I had met on the boat, and we checked in. We walked the strip along the hotels and waterfront and then chose a restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, I shopped around for a day cruise of the islands.

The next day, I boarded a tour boat bound for the Ha Long Bay islands and spent the day cruising around, snapping photos of karsts, kayaking around karsts, and gazing at karsts. It was a day of karsts all around. Did I mention there were karsts? The sky was gray, but it didn’t rain. At the end, the boat returned us to Cat Ba Island, and I went to the same restaurant as before for a delicious dinner and a quiet evening alone.

The next day it was still cloudy and gray, so I decided that I’d had enough of Ha Long Bay, having seen karsts to my heart’s content the day before, so I booked transportation back to Hanoi by bus for the same day and departed around noon.

Hue, Vietnam

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:22:53 -0800

After Hoi An, I went to Hue. At this point, I was worried about running out of time, since I could only stay in Vietnam for thirty days. I stayed in Hue for two days. It was lightly raining the entire time, so I wore my poncho and gritted my teeth.

The first day, after I checked into my hotel, I walked to the Imperial Citadel and spent all afternoon exploring the ruins (bombed by the Americans) and the buildings still standing.

The second day, I hired a private motorbike guide to take me to three emperor tombs and a pagoda in the surrounding area.

Bought an open tour bus ticket for Hanoi.