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Went to Burma today

Quick post: lindz and I made a visa run today, which basically involved driving 5 hours to the border of Burma, crossing into Burma aka Myanmar, then crossing back into Thailand. It felt a bit pointless but at least I can say I’ve been to Myanmar -it’s amazing how different it felt, even just order the border. Anyway, it was another 5 hours back to Chiang Mai. We met a wonderful woman named Susan and had a great chat.

Tomorrow in the AM we have a cooking class at 9 until 4 in the afternoon, which we are both very excited about. 6 different things to cook, plus a tour of the markets.

Oh, tonight we gave into temptation and went to “Mikes Burger” and had hamburgers and a shake.

That’s about it!!!

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Narrative.

“I am lead to the proposition that there is no fiction or nonfiction as we currently understand the distinction; there is only narrative.” -E.L. Doctorow

So, we were hit by a train, yesterday.

Not we ourselves, but rather when we were boarding, our train got hit by an oncoming train stopping at the same station. Not hard enough to knock us off the tracks or anything. But hard enough that all of the luggage in the overhead racks fell down, some of which hit me in the head, which in turn, knocked me off my seat, which unhinged and broke, leaving me flung over the seat in front of me with, no doubt, sheer panic on my face. It happened so fast I didn’t even know it was coming. I just remember Kev saying, “what is that noise? Is that a truck?” and me saying, “I doubt they have trucks on a train track, Kev…” and BAM. It was just that quick. Everyone returned to normal so quick it blew my mind. No one even seemed fazed.

A common occurrence? Guess we’ll have to ride 3rd class more often to find out! Besides almost dying (just kidding:)) The train ride was awesome. We met some amazing people who spoke a bit of English, and invited us to come to their house in Chumpon for a while. Kev made origami for the little girl while we ate delicious cow lahm (sticky rice and coconut, grilled in bamboo), and saw some of the beautiful countryside we missed on the dark bus ride down.

7 hours later, we made it to Bangkok and headed straight for Khaosan Road looking for cheap lodging, which thankfully, we found. The next day, we decided to head to “The Best Market in Bangkok” which apparently (according to our guidebook) sold everything from “Dalmatians to Thai Silk,” which I found funny. By the way, I have yet to see a Dalmatian in Thailand. We jumped a cab (Kev is getting to be quite the taxi hailer these days:)) and drove as far as we could reasonably justify before we planned on walking. **I should note that the day before we walked over 18 km in flop flops exploring the city, so we felt a taxi was somewhat deserved** No sooner had we jumped out of the cab, I felt a little gurgle in my stomach. You guessed it! I was sick again. So, we jumped back in the cab, this time not worrying about the cost–I just had to get home fast!! In the cab, while trying to keep my mind off “things,” I couldn’t help being reminded of my freshman year at Alma, where I swear to God I got every virus that went through the dorms. Luckily though, I cannot remember being sick in the 4 years after that year. My body had built up such stellar antibodies that I was unable to get sick. That is, until this trip. All I know is the individual who invented Cipro should be given saint-status as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately, yesterday amounted to me huddled in a ball on my bed all day, with no purses or tacky souvenirs to show for myself. Sunday was supposed to be the best day to go too. I really wanted to see those flying squirrels.

Today though, I feel remarkably better. Just in time for my special day! For starters, we somehow got into one of the best guest houses in Bangkok, which normally has a 3 month waiting list. It has the most amazing ambiance, and is living up to my every expectation. Also high on the list (and ignoring my sickness yesterday), we indulged in some AMAZING food (I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me!!!:)). This morning for breakfast, Kev took me to get crepes at this really cute French joint (Cor, I wonder how similar they were to the ones you had in France? They were delicious, but unlike any I had ever had before.). After that we jumped on our old friend the Skytrain, and headed down to the bookstore where I lost myself for a few hours. I finally resurfaced from my state of rapture (with my books) with 3 new ones I couldn’t live without (who does that sound like?!:)) which Kev bought me for a special gift. I was on cloud 9. Still in my euphoric state, we headed down to get, quite possibly the best sushi I have ever had. We ordered so much food, nigiri was practically coming out of my ears. I was so full I felt like I was back in the States, with my glutinous side (that I know and love) risen from its 2 month dormant slumber. I was so full I couldn’t breathe properly. I was so full, I didn’t think I could walk…that is until Kev INSISTED we take a gander around the gorgeous bakeries and pick out a birthday cake. Naturally, I rolled myself right on out of Fuji Sushi, and right into this unbelievable pastry shop. After much deliberation, I chose a Triple Chocolate Mousse Delight. Just a slice. I couldn’t stand being THAT glutinous all in one day. While I recognize it’s not a Funfetti, it’s the closest thing a girl could get to a birthday cake, without being home and having her mom make one for her, am I right?! Trust me, I’m right. Jennifer Rose Hoornstra would have probably keeled over dead in that gem of a cake shop. That’s all I gotta say.

After my long day of pure indulgence, we headed back to the guest house and snuck up to my room to eat the cake because I was too embarrassed to blow out my candles in front of everyone downstairs. As it turns out, we seriously did have to sneak it, because the guest house has some pretty strict No Eating in Rooms policies. So after the quickest rendition of “Happy Birthday” ever, and the ceremonious blowing out of the candles, we quickly swatted away all of the smoke in the hopes of disguising our cake-eating, rule-breaking selves from the fire alarms (there’s a No Smoking in Rooms policy too).

And thank God we did. I’m just sitting here thinking about the evacuation of the building, and the “rescue” of the trusty Thai Fire Depot, which happens to be right down the street… HA! Now THAT would have been embarrassing!!

And now, after all of that, I am left sitting here. Trying to savor my books (I’ve already finished one:() and recount a wonderful birthday memories. It was a good one. Kev did a really good job of making it special. Even still, I wish I were home, scrap that, I wish my family was here :)because no matter how great the birthday, it’s always better with your family.

I love you guys. It’s getting late, and I might be getting a bit sappy (swwwen!!!)

Indulge today for me,
Lgt

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Monkey

We are going to have a bunch of out of order posts, because some posts are “queued up” on the ol’ iPod Touch with is internet connectionless (I’m amazed at the lack of open wifi networks in the middle of Bangkok).

Anyway, just a short story, but I fed a bunch of monkeys and there were a few of them climbing up my pants and one of them pulled my pants down, and the Thai women who I bought the food from saw my area and laughed, and it was captured on “film”. There are a bunch more photos on Flickr, if you haven’t yet figured out the fancy “front page” (asia.shoelessone.com), the link to the flickr page is http://flickr.com/shoelessone – you should be able to look through the photos and make some sense of them.

It was awesome.

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Wave-alicious

Def.def,def,def,def,def,def,def.
Wave-a-licious definition, make those farangs vomit……

So a few days late to post, but kev and I are on the trusty Songserm ferry from Ko Tao, to Chumpon! From there we’ll hop a train to Prachaup Khiri Khan, a small fishing village known for drying squid and cheap seafood (which is naturally why we’re going:)).

Our time on Ko Tao (Little Turtle) has been great. We had a couple of amazing, once-in-a-lifetime dives, where we saw the most beautiful coral, anemones (I’m going to have to spell check that word, there’s no way that’s right!) and of course marine life ever….but the anemones were for sure my favorite. The entire time I kept thinking about my dad, and how much he would have loved it. The weather hasn’t been great–but still a welcomed change from the seemingly constant heat.

That being said, I just have to tell you about the Ferry Boat Ride From Hell we took getting to Ko Tao. Around 11am, our taxi took us to the loading dock where about 200 college aged farangs, still hungover from the Half Moon Party, were all huddled under this holey, makeshift tarp about 30 feet long waiting for the boat. While walking over, I felt a couple raindrops, but by the time we made it to the tarp it started to DOWNPOUR. Remember when I said “when it rains, it pours?” well, this was no exception. Out of nowhere rain comes hailing down and everyone is trying that much harder to secure a dry spot under the tarp for themselves and their packs. No one succeeded. While we’re all standing there, huddling in the arm pits of strangers, the ridiculous wind whips a giant part of the gutter on this tarp around, and turns the spout directly on our heads. We are, SOPPING wet. There is 0 chance one single thing I have with me is even remotely dry. At this point, our ferry has made it to the dock, but the waves are so enormous, they cant tie the boat off to let the passengers coming from Surat Thani off. So we wait…and wait….and wait, for another hour until the boat crew has muscled their way into tying off the boat. Thrilled that our 2+ hour wait for the ferry is finally over, everyone is wet, but smiling and ready to board. The cheering and excitement stops, however, when we see the passengers get off the boat: white- faced, sickly people wearily lugging their packs, and, carrying multiple bags of their vomit. I tried to conceal my laughter, and sort of rolled my eyes at kev, who also found the scene to be somewhat humorous. We were just so wet, and so tired of carrying our now extra- heavy packs that we were ready to get on that boat no matter what. Well, let me just say, karma came to bite me in the ass for laughing at my fellow farang’s misfortune. We sat down at our seats, and a crewman came around to give us each clear plastic bags, “just in case.” ha. While I thankfully did not puke, I was holding on for dear life as our tiny boat was ENGULFED in the giant waves, and rocking us around like a pinball. The waves had earned a “highscore” after that ride, to say the least! All around EVERYONE (I seriously bet more than 1/2 the boat) was puking into their CLEAR PLASTIC bags, which after looking at (which you couldn’t avoid) would be enough to make anyone sick. It was unreal. Between the disgusting noises, smells, tears and rocking, it was, without question the longest 1.5 hours of my life.

Things I’ve learned:
1) Don’t laugh at other’s misfortune. We are in the land if Buddha, and that guy knows how to instill some serious karma on the deserving.
2) Always keep raincoat and waterproofed bags close by during the rainy season.
3) Stay away from Sangsum rum buckets before ferry rides… Especially if the weather is less than ideal.
——————————–
Also: I had my first 1 hour long Thai Massage. Best $4 I’ve ever spent. Also, also: I just found out my family (Sean) bought 3 pigs which are now residing in our back yard. If you see my parents, be sure to call them “Maw” and “Paw” for me.
Also, also, also: Kevin got really drunk last night after drinking less than a full 40oz Chang beer. Apparently those Chinese know how to make a strong beer!
Also, also, also, also: I had French Fries with mayo last night, and they were a delicious reminder of home. ’tis all.

Keep the ketchup off your shirts, Lgt

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For the dive log

For the dive logs,

Japanses gardens, green rock -dive 2
15 meters of vis

Chumpun pinnacle -dive 1
20-25 meters vis-very good, perhaps next best next to Cozumel
Jellyfish on long swim, Lindsay almost ran into them. Dive was great,
some great beautiful anenamies (sp?) and coral, large schools of
smaller fish. Also saw a decent sized black tipped reef shark.

Lindsay was a pro diver, perfect decents, etc. Plus perfect safety
stops. A real pro.

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Quick update from Koh Tao

Hopefully my battery doesnt die before I finish this.

As I type this the tide is high, I'm sitting on a sodden step that
faces the ocean, which is maybe 10 feet in front of me. Behind me is
the main office of the Big Blue dive operation that Lindsay and I dove
with. It's 7:30 pm here and dark already. In front but to the left a
bit is a Thai cooking fresh fish and other seafood to order, his BBQ
"grill" has two legs in the water. It is a very nice atmosphere, to
the right if me and again only a few feet away is a palm tree with
lanterns hanging from it and surrounding it is a bunch of tables and
mats where people sit on the ground eating their freshly cooked
seafood. There seems to be a lot of large prawns, red snapper, and
baracuda. It's a very "tropical island" atmosphere. Lindsay is running
on the beach, which is lit up all along the coast with similar
establishments. Music of course is playing.

This will be night three on Koh Tao, and there us much to share. A
terrible boat ride here, very good diving, and a so so experience with
the "resort" we're staying at. I don't think I'll have time to post
about all of this right now, so the details will have to wait until
later. I just wanted to give a ganeral update on our progress and plans.

Tomorrow we are taking a four hour boat ride to chumpan (spelling?)
which is north of Surat thani which is where we first departed from.
Then we take a 4 hour train to a small fishing village along the coast
to the north, where we plan to stay for 1 or 2 nights, before we head
back to bangkok to regroup before Chiang Mai, in the very north.

Hope all is well for everybody, good luck Andrew!!!
-kev

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Thailand

A trying day….

So today has been a trying day. Koh Phangan has been great, except for two small issues:

1) on the ferry boat here we got burnt to epic porportions. Epic. We arrived here at 74 in the afternoon on Friday, and I passed out by 8:00, and did not wake up until 6 the next day. Now, 4 days later, I can almost put pants on without wincing in pain. It’s been a good one. You’d think I’d know by now that falling asleep for 2 hours with my feet hanging off the side of a giant ferry in the Thai sun, wouldn’t be the smartest thing.

I always have to learn the hard way.

For those of you that can remember back to my lovely sunlamp incident… It’s about on par with that. Okay, fine. Maybe not THAT bad, but I do have quite blistery lips, and heat radiating from my kneecaps (like Juno! But without the heartburn:)) to show for it.

2) I am sick. Very, very sick. I’m talking fever, cold sweats, nausea, and the-other-kind-of-sick.

IF you know what I mean.

It has been a long 36+ hours, to say the least. I truly thought I was going to have to go to the hospital this morning to get rehydrated after not eating or drinking anything for over 24 hours (and sweating off the rest of my energy from the lack of A/C in my bungalow), but thankfully kev came and saved the day, and went to the doctor and got some prescription-strength
meds which seem to be doing the trick. I’ll report back later to let you know if I’ve died yet….or, I guess maybe kev will have to do that…

OH!!!!! One final thing. This is the real kicker. I was told today that I looked like Hilary Clinton.

Yes. Today has been a trying day.

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Quick update – Koh Phangan day 2ish

update: here is another sweet video 🙂

Very quick update as Lindsay is hungry and she gets like Nick when she is hungry.

Today was perhaps the best day we’ve had thus far, we rented a scooter and rode around the south end of koh phangan all day long. it was honestly amazing, like out of a movie. We’ll post more about it later, but for now check out flickr for a few photos from the bike. sadly the photos don’t do the experience justice, so we took a few videos, unfortunately they were too big to upload right now (well, not really, but with lindsay’s hunger in the picture no way she’ll last another 20 minutes while the video uploads!), but there is a small one in which you can at least see the bike.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoelessone/2684625779/ (edit: it’s posted below actually, hopefully. These computers are from 1993 I think, so things don’t always work.)

Miss you all!!!

p.s. here is a view from the bike:


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happy beach bungalow!

PICTURES:






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Koh Phangan day 1.5

Well, yesterday (or the day before actually) we hopped on the bus ride from Bangkok to Surat Thani. It was not great (but read on!) as it was shorter then expected and there was not much sleeping that got done. All in all it was better than I had expected though. After arriving sometime around 3 AM to a bus station, we waited another two or so hours on a concrete floor, trying to sleep, which worked out (again) better than I expected. Around 6 AM we took a bus to a dock, where we waited for another 30 or so minutes to get on this giant fairy. At this point I wasn’t feeling to great and the entire throng of people we were with looked like a group of zombies, for the most part. We got on the ferry near last, which means we didn’t get an air conditioned spot in the ferry (complete with a showing of Ransom) but rather were stuck on top. At first I figured this might suck (here’s where my positive attitude comes in) but it turned out to be an AWESOME boat ride, and I thoroughly loved/enjoyed it. The ride ended up being a long once, I believe we got to Koh Tao at around 10:30-11, and we got to our Island of Koh Phangan at around noon. All along the way though I sat in the front of the boat and the waves splashed up pretty good and I got soaked. It was wonderful, I love the water and it was a great ride.

Unfortunately I wasn’t thinking too clearly until the end of our ride, and the sun was pretty intense. Lindsay and I both got burned pretty badly. Luckily I had a long sleeved shirt on, but my face and legs and scalp are still pretty painful. Lindsay looked pretty miserable yesterday, she looks better today, I think I look worse.


notice my white legs, and ridiculously red face 🙂


We (read I) was very nervous about finding a place to stay once we got to the Island. It turns out that while it’s the low season in mainland Thailand/SE Asia, it’s the high season for the island as the water/winds/etc are such that it has clear water and optimal weather. Our guide book said to plan on spending 4000+ baht (around 120$ US) for a room, which is around 7 times our budget. Luckily, when we got off the ferry on Koh Phangan (again this is yesterday, the 18th) there were a bunch of people waving signs shouting at you as you walked off offering accommodation. Lindsay asked one lady if they had anything for cheap, and she said they had a room for 500 baht (around 15 bucks US). That sounded great to us, and although I had a feeling it was going to be a total dump in the middle of the island far from the beach, we decided to go with it anyway.

We jumped on the back of a taxi (literally hanging onto the side of the bus) and took a 10 minute ride to our place. We got off, walked across a questionably looking bridge to a spectacular place. Honestly the place is great, Lindsay and I each have a bungalow complete with a hammock hanging on our porch, a mosquito netting, a bathroom with a shower and toilet and sink (all which leak), etc. The people are the Happy Beach (as the place is called) are really nice, very friendly, etc. The beach is beautiful and is around 15 seconds away (truly).

We met Abdel, an actor from Belgium who gave us a lot of information about the Island, renting scooters, etc. Like most places in Thailand the Happy Beach bungalows has a restaurant/bar on site, which is not at all like a restaurant in the US (or Bangkok for that matter). You sit/lay on the floor with mats, and the family is often watching TV in the living room, which is the same room as you are eating. For those interested in prices, I had a curry with chicken and vegetables and steamed rice for 75 baht (~2.50 US), Lindsay had a Shrimp and vegetable rice dish (60 baht, about 2 bucks), and she had a Lassi and I had a coconut shake (30 and 30 baht). Not the cheapest meals we had, but with our 500 baht rooms it was OK that the food was a bit more. Plus you can see the incredible blue water and white sand from the beach.

Mr. Teeples: I’d consider this part of our trip to be a bit of a vacation :).

Lindsay went to bed around 6 PM (I know) on account of her sunburn and general miserable feeling, I wasn’t feeling so bad and sat in our hammock reading a book I stole from Dad (sorry Dad) – a wonderful *cough* Clive Cussler novel, which I finished around 8 after which I jumped in bed myself.

Lindsay woke up early today, I’m guessing around 6 if not earlier, went for a run on the beach, and found a small group of shops/internet cafes/bars/restaurants a few hundred feet down the road from us. I woke up at 9:30, brushed my teeth, and went into the town and found Lindsay. we used the internet and buy a pair of super-cool-dude sunglasses. That’s about where I am now, I slept too much so I feel sort of out of it and generally not spectacular, plus I’m getting over a bit of a cold. Lindsay and I both feel a bit burned and are going to try to avoid the sun today. I’m staving, and am going to see how much food is at the places in town here are.

Tonight is the big Full Moon Party (I feel so dumb typing that), and tomorrow or the next day I’m hoping to rent a scooter so we can look around the Island without worrying about a taxi. The Island is very slow, traffic wise, so I’m not too nervous about it. We’ll see!

Miss you all,
Kev

p.s. I’ll try to post some photos later, I didn’t know if we’d find internet and I didn’t want to bring all of my gear with me.