Adventures in Vietnam.

When I arrived to Vietnam I was scared. I was alone and did not know how to speak anything in Vietnamese except for "phô", a delicious noodle dish. Arrivng at the international terminal of Ho Chi Minh City (aka: Saigon / HCMC) I had no dong (Vietnamese currency) nor US dollars. Being that I needed to pay for my visa, I wasn't sure what would result since there was no ATM in immigration area. Upon being called up for my visa, I mentioned to the stern looking man behind the thick glass window and he said they would gladly accept bhat. Safe!

I shared a cab with another American guy (Joe) from the bay area of California into town as I was trying to make an 11pm train to Danang and by this time it was about 1015 pm. I arrived at Ga Sai Gon (train station) with 10 minutes to spare. It was just my luck though as Tet was in full effect and Vietnamese nationals were ALL traveling too! There were no seats for me (even after a woman attempted to scam me by purchasing a local train ticket and trying to pay off the train agents to let me on and give them their cut too) Not knowing where i was in town since I had not looked Into a travel guide book of Vietnam much, I found myself seeking some sort of comfort. This is when my Vietnamese habit started... cigarettes. Everyone was smoking. I felt like I was smoking by way of second hand smoke, so I bought a pack, sat down outside the train station and lit up a cigarette.


That night I found my way to a small hotel nearby the train station where I accessed the internet and downloaded vietnamese language apps, read the wikitravel guide for HCMC and reaearched where i would go the next day. Because of so much travel going on, the sounds of the millions of motorbikes in Saigon were ever present. Then it was off to sleep.


I cab to the backpacker area in the morning and find a travel agency that books my trip to Phu Quoc, an island off the south coast of Vietnam but closer to the Camvodia coastline. Apparently a point of contention between the countries. Afterall I absolutely wanted to go to another beach while in Asia! This trip would result in a 16 hour commute including a 6 hour bus ride where the music was non- stop in celebration of tet, a few hours sleep at a small guest house and a couple hour boat ride, until finally I arrive on the lovely island of Phu Quoc.


About the commute to the island- due to the Chinese new year celebration the entire country is in gift giving mode. Every person, motorbike, taxi, bus, boat, etc was loaded with gifts. This included roosters in straw bags, 6' trees, oversized stuffed animals, sweets, food and really anything else you can think of. Imagine this: 2 adults riding a motorbike in the busy busy streets of Saigon. The driver maneuvering the traffic (which I chaos, yet organized) the passenger holding on to a box about 3'x3'x3 and a small tree strapped to the back of the motorbike. Impressive how they do it.


Anyway- once settled in I book a night fishing trip in hopes of catching some squid and some fish for dinner: whatever we catch we grill and eat. I connected with Juliane from Austria on the boat ride over to the island (lovely girl who was also traveling alone) and she also joined the adventure out to sea. After an hour at sea the group of 5 on the fishing trip had caught a handful of small red snapper. I proudly contributed one fish about 6" long.... Never been lucky with the fishing energy. Next was squid... NO ONE caught any. Must have been a bad day for the critters or the lights on our boat were not bright enough?


The next day it was motorbike time to enable an exploring of the island. Juliane shared a motorbike with me and we joined a French couple: Sophie and Benoit who were both absolutely friendly- and I got to listen to some French every now and again. After grabbing a few bhan mi we take off, but don't get too far. Given our location in the central part o the island, and trying to get to the north, we have to cross the "busy" area of town which has a few confusing roads. After a couple wrong turns we end up on a dirt road and are greeted by about 5 boys between 7-12 who were all on 2 bikes. They ask where we are going and assure us they know the way: it's just 1 km away. After about 20 minutes of following theae boys and continued reassurance that it was just "1km away", (to the point we ended up on a small dirt road about 3 feet wide winding through thicker and thicker foliage) we stop and ask another man who wasn't very convincing (by the smirk on his face when telling us that the kids were correct). Since my motorbike was pretty close to empty, we decided that this was a good place to turn around and retrace our steps.
After filling up with "sang" (gas) we asked around and were on our way to the northern part of the island, about a 45 minute ride. Once on the main road it was a beautiful ride: road paved, lush greenery, roadside stands selling fresh fruits. Then a turn off. This was a dirt road that would lead us to Dao beach, our final destination which was meant to have white sand beaches, calm water no deeper than 5 feet and a serene environment. Just before reaching Dao, the road got rocky and a bit more holly, which is also where the motorbike gave way and Juliane and I were thrown off the bike to find ourselves with wounds on the left side of our bodies. Being the only road leading to this part of the island, many many people stopped to ask if we needed help: foreigners and locals alike. A young man 18 years old called () and his uncle Nim who were on way back from market in the central part of the island remained with us on the road until finally they offered to drive each of us to the hospital. Juliane rode with Nim and I rode with (). We were greeted at rhe clinic by many local Vietnamese, including our 19 year old translator who had all heard of our accident. After getting cleaned up by the doctor on duty, about 20 years old we were invited over to their home while a taxi was called. The four of us foreigners were very impressed by the sincere empathy displayed by this entire community as they would not take a monetary token of appreciation. By this point it was just after noon and Benoit and I drove the motorbikes home whilet the girls took the cab back to Long Beach. The rest of the trip on the island was a little more tame since I could not go swimming due to the small hole in my left elbow and gash on my left foot.


The night before I left I was en route to my bungalow and stopped into the local market to get a bottle of water and a beer. This is where I met Robinson, a local fisherman about 55 years old who was excited about "how easy it was to understand my English" and was eager to show me some photos he had taken. After 15 minutes of conversation he invites me to sit with their group (Thuy- a woman about 50 and the store owner and Dudu a guy from Madagascar on the backpacker circuit) to continue enjoying beers and conversation- so I did. 2-3 hours later our conversation, in French English and Vietnamese, went from "where are you from" to "leading life with an open heart" multiple beers and a nice connections who were complete strangers when I first got there.


The next morning it was back to Saigon for a couple more days to indulge in tet. Arriving in the city again, it was even more dressed up than it was before. Yellow flowers everywhere. Signage stating "chuc mung nam moi" all over town. Families on one motorbike getting all of their presents. This new year celebration on Jan 23rd was sure to be an exciting opportunity.

I shared a hotel with Juliane right in district 1 behind the main backpacker road. Left and right offerings for any drug imaginable, perhaps more so than bangkok's Khao San Road. The first night we went to the backpacker road called () and there are many spots where you sit on the street on 2 foot stools (felt like the chairs from my preschool days) and beers at 10.000 dong ($.48) for a .75L beer. We had a few beers and met loads of people from all over the world. Carlos and Gema from Barcelona, Henrick from Switzerland, and Manuel from Germany but living in Hanoi all if us say, people watched, shared stories and agreed to meet at the same spot the next night to celebrate new years, and we did, but with even more people and more beer. That is only how new years celebration started. The highlight will have to be watching the traffic in their return from watching the fire works on the Saigom river. Pretty much the city shuts down and all the locals go to the organized events throughout the city. Stages in parks with music and performance, food booths all over town. Fireworks that lasted forever. Imagine New York City traffic, but all motorbikes (as I has described before). <<>> Usually annoying. In tho case it was like a show. We stood on the street corner of a major intersection and watched for nearly an hour. It was a-mazing that there were no accidents while we watched. I would never drive in Saigon. Earlier in the day I had bought some envelopes for "lucky money". Probably about 10 of them. I filled each of them with some dong and handed them out to vietnamese people that were of help through the day. My favorite was a little boy about 3 who was watching fireworks in front of us and was SUPER excited. Each time he would clap and jump and laugh and you could see his high positive energy glaring through. Once I gave him his envelope he became extremely shy- bit his mother convinced him to take a photo with me. Cute kid.


One thing I forgot- I was really lucky to have met Juliane as she is a nurse in Austria and assisted me with cleaning the battle wounds from Phu Quoc. something I would not get once I was in Myanmar.


Traveler recommendations: eat the street food. The Phô and spring rolls. Spring street hotel in district 1 was perfect. Very nice rooms, cebtrally located and split between 2 people ended up at $15 each night.

I Love Chiang Mai

It's true. Just as people say "Go to Chiang Mai!... a beautiful mellow international city." I took their word. Not to mention friends from Santa Barbara Toby and Jade live there, but they were on vacation while I was in town. Given that here I was now on my own for the rest of my trip, I was excited to have a good time and explore the north of Thailand.

After an overnight 12 hour train ride from Bangkok, I arrived at Safe House Court, a guest house that had been recommended by two American girls, Kelli and Lara, who were living in Konchanaburi and would also be there at the same time I was. They were having breakfast and gearing up to go do Flight of the Gibbon, a zip line course in the heart of the jungle. I joined.

For the zip line tour, we were joined by just one other guy called Caleb from Tennessee but now living in Singapore. The four of us together swung across loads of jungle the longest of our flights at just over 80 meters. We even got a glimpse of some gibbon monkeys that for a second there thought one was going to jump off the tree and accost our group. After a nice dinner at the base camp and a short hike up to a nice waterfall we were returned back to our homes.

The next morning I went off in search of a bicycle to rent so I can explore the city. The single speed bike was a little used but it wold surely get me around town. I was off- I went to a few pagodas, rode throughout Chiang Mai in and outside of the moat (the old part of CM is surrounded by a moat and parts of the old walls to the city. Inside these walls is where most touristy stuff happens) and took in the energy of CM via bike. Later that night I went to the night market on my bike. There is a standing night market and then there is the Chiang Mai walking market. I did both. It is fascinating to see the energy of the town: tourist, locals, music, food, clothing, warm weather and many many smiles. Walking through the market I met a guy called Carlo. We hit it off as he had split up from his group of friends and was on his own. Walking around to various stands with a Chang in hand, we tried the various food offerings the market had until we ran into his friends again. Enter Nakita and Haley. This lovely group of individuals had met through their travels in various cities. All traveling on their own, but maintained their connection in places they visited at the same time. I was in. Not only did I come across some VERY nice people, but they also allowed me an in to their group. Later that night we also met two others: Alice and Matteo. Over the next few days this group of 6 would encounter various adventures throughout Chiang Mai, indulge in good food, drink beers, dance and have great conversation about anything from humbling energy of travel to sexuality to life vision. All fair game. I will admit that coming across this stellar group of travelers made Chiang Mai for me, but more than that- it made me some good friends. Thanks Carlo!

One afternoon we were eager to go visit the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthepjust outside of CM up the mountain. The first plan was lets rent motorbikes and ride up. Unfortunately for us nearly all motorbikes had been rented from the various places in town as it was a really nice sunny day, so instead we hired a "red truck", which are all over the city and so worthy of bartering with (Thanks Nakita!) The temple itself was impressive, but what I enjoyed the most was the calm and peace walking around this sacred space. It was like staying at a park on a Saturday afternoon, no worries, good company and just a sense of balance. It is true that visiting temples in Thailand and Asia in general, can get old. They all have their own story, but after you've seen 5 or 6, you are in awe of the gold and design for a bit, and then it fades. Kind of like going on a church tour throughout Europe. Returning back to town it was time for a bite and then an outing to Zoe in Yellow and the Reggae bar. Live band equals good times and loads of dancing.

The next morning I decided it was time for another motorbike rental. Ao i can explore more of the city. Little did i know that i was just setting myself up to get lost. I went to the Warorot market on the other side of town, parked the bike in an alleyway and walked around for hours. This market I found specialized in incense, tea and herbs. It was everywhere. So I bought some. One thing that I really found myself excelling at during this trip is my ability to barter... I think in large prt due to the loads of markets I visited. During this visit at the market, I felt that I had kept tabs on each turn I made and would later be able to get back to the motorbike. I was wrong. Since all the shops looked the same I found myself going in circles trying to get out of this maZe. Eventually, (like 2 hours later) through a picture recognition and asking a few people, I found my bike and rode back to my room. Riding around CM on a motorbike is very pleasant. The traffic is not overwhelming, the amount of horn use is not as much as other cities and in general people are friendly. It felt good to see Chiang Mai via motorbike.

Later that afternoon I connected with Carlo and Nakita and we went to Chang Chalad, a small restaurant that had been recommended to me and that I ate at when I got my haircut the first day in CM. The three of us rode on the motorbike together and it was quite an adventure. We sat for a couple of hours and had a lovely conversation. Talk about weight balance on the motorbike. As the driver, I thought I did a pretty good job, but more importantly it was way fun. We drove Nakita back as she was on her way out of town and connected with Alice and Matteo. We had massages booked that evening and it was something that I was totally looking forward to.

Later that night Carlo and I went on an adventure to find something to eat. Starting off going in the wrong direction, as we were headed to the night market, we got lost. Matteo and Alice were waiting for us to go explore the "gay" part of town and after driving in circles around the moat , asking for directions from people on the street and eventually finding our way back- the four of us were off to take on the night. The attempt at the gay bars was unsuccessful. Because of the nature of the bar, beers were very costly, comparatively... We took off and eventually found ourselves back at the reggae bar. After loads more dancing, a few buckets and meeting new people my last night in Chiang Mai came to an end. It was a beautiful night spent with a few individuals with really good energy. These are the people that when I look back on my trip to South East Asia, especially Chiang Mai, it will be them who come to mind. The human connection, which already I am missing.

The next morning I had booked a cooking class at the Thai School of Cookery. A five hour course on making some of the most traditional Thai dishes. This seemed like the perfect way to wrap up my trip in CM and it was. A tour of a local market to purchase all of ingredients, instruction on each of the dishes we chose to cook at the school and the opportunity to eat them all was fantastic! I will detail more on this when I write about my food experience, but in short- highly recommended to take a Thai cooking class!

I went back to my guest house to check out and book my accommodation and transport for my trip to Vietnam. As I am printing my boarding pass for my flight I realize that my departure time is in about 15 minutes..... No way I would make it in time. Lucky for me there was one more flight that night but was not certain I would make my connection from Bangkok to Saigon... I would take my chances and fortunately for me- I made it. This was f course due to the help of the Qatar counter agent. She RAN with me through the Bangkok airport and put me through the priority line (she was in heels) and I made my connection and on my way to Ho Chi Minh City I was, excited to explore Hoi An, Dananag and Saigon.

Hello, my name is Javier. What&apos;s yours??

I was eager to meet up with Rusty, Tammy and Jason. Not only had I not traveled in such a foreign place with any of them, but I thought it would be a nice ease into the rest of my travels on my own granted I would be spending a week with familiar faces. I met up with Jason and Rusty on Khao San after they apparently were on the verge of strangling one another after their 3 weeks of travel together. We checked into the guest house and Jason and I headed for the airport to greet Tammy on her arrival (with a sign that read "YUEN", a beer and a peach iced tea). Tammy arrived safely and upon return to KS it was time for a quick nap as our transport to Koh Phangan would leave early in the morning.

After about 12 hours of travel on a bus and speed boat, we arrived on the lovely island of Koh Phangan. This is where vacation began as we would be here for 4 nights (opposite to the original plan which would have put us on Koh PiPi after 2 nights) and we would be able to just rest and settle in a bit more. After the boat ride, we hop on the back of a pick-up truck after bartering for a ride to the beach we would be staying at.. 500 Bhat for all of us. A 100 Bhat discount!! We checked into Smile Beach Resort which were a bunch of bungalows a couple minute walk from Haad Salad Beach. Jason and Tammy had stayed here 3 years before and evidently they gained celebrity status as the staff certainly remembered them.

For dinner that night we walked along the beach to find Haad Salad Beach Resort, the place where we would be having all of our dinners while in Phangan. This place was right on the beach and each time we ate there we sat at the tables closest to the ocean- what more could we ask for. An older woman who we called Mama Thai #2 (the original one being at Your Place Thai Restaurant in Santa Barbara) greeted us with a smile and gave us many many recommendations. For instance: don't order the (fill in the blank) its no good. We later discover that Mama Thai #2 is actually Chinese but she kept her name for the duration of the trip.

The next day would turn into day of adventure. I woke up fairly early and walked over to the beach for a morning run. Given Haad Salad beach was not very big and parts were a little more rocky, I found myself running "out backs" on a very short distance. After the run a little yoga and then into the ocean for a quick dip. Once everyone had awakened we chose the spot where we would have all of our breakfasts and spend many hours staring, sitting and playing cards: Smile Beach Resort (where we were staying). After breakfast it was time for us to explore the island... On motorbike.
Motorbikes are relatively cheap to rent, if I remember correctly we each paid 200 baht for a full day rental: the equivalent of about $7USD. After some paperwork and reminding myself how to operate one of these things (it ha been a while) we were off with about 6 hours before sunset. Rusty and I on our own bikes and Tammy and Jason coupled up like Lloyd and Harry.We stopped over at a beach just north of us where there is a land bridge during low tide to another small island. We half walked and half swam across to reach a spot on the beach where people watching was amazing. Not to mention the water was at a perfect temperature of about 68 degrees and the views were incredible: palm trees, clear water, small little tiny fish swimming around while I sat in the water. All that was missing was a Singha.
We continued our adventure to the Paradise Waterfall, about a 20 minute ride up the island. Rope swing, natural "spa jets", and (slippery) bouldering. It was a playground, except everyone there were adults and it was person after another trying to get the highest and best swing off the rope into the swimming hole. A climb up the fall nearly "cost our lives" as the rocks were slippery we werr strategizing how best to get across the fall at the same height we had reached: throw a fallen branch across and use that to hold onto. We let the branch sit and observed what the water pressure would do to it and surely it was resistant, except for when it broke in half and parts of it lead down the fall. We decide this I not the best idea and make out way to the marked trail.
After a bit more riding on the motorbike we go in search of our next Thai massage until we find one that can accommodate the 4 of us. We all agreed that we had better massages in the past, but it was certainly nice to get this one. During the last couple hours of our day we find another beach to play in the sand, create some "cirque like" shadows in the sunset and capture jumping photos. no better way to end our adventure.
The next day was The Full Moon Party- one of the key reasons for coming to this particular island. Since FMP would go late and we would find ourselves hydrating with buckets, our day started with a little yoga on a mountainside studio just up the hill from our bungalow. The view while in downward dog, pyramid and handstand was nothing less than amazing: lush green tropical forest loaded with palms, a crisp breeze, and the sounds of chirping birds.
The yoga calm only held for about 1 hour after. In returning our motorbike rentals I was a victim of their profiteering. While touring the island the day before, our group came to a sudden stop while looking for the Thai massage place. My bike couldn't fully break as it slid on some sand and ended up on top of me. Not much damage besides a few scrapes on my leg, or so I thought. I neglected to fully inspect the bike before I took it back, but the rental place surely did. they found every little scratch that I hasn't seen- granted I was pretty stubborn about writing down the various minor scratches the bike had when I first rented it the day before. At the end of it my $7 USD rental was 7600 baht ($253 USD)!! I was not about to pay that much so with a little bartering, pleaing and tenacity, I was able to get my passport back for the low cost of 6200 baht- much more than my original estimation of the daily bike rental. This event sorta put a damper on my morning but after a coconut shake and some quite time at "our booth" at Smile Beach with good friends, I was ready for the rest of the day.

The Full Moon Party came quickly after a day of purposeful nothing. We booked our 30 minute taxi mini van ride in the afternoon and were on our way by 9:30 pm along with about 10 other party goers. This ride was not complete without a bucket (mixed drink consisting of coca cola, choice of whiskey, vodka or rum, and red bull over ice in a small plastic bucket). As we are pulling away from the resort, a road side stand selling buckets grants us a "drive-thru" bucket and we share with others in our taxi. Upon arrival at Haad Rin, the beach the FMP is hosted at- there is mass loads of foreigners full of body paint, bright clothing and booze. Bucket stands everywhere. Food stands everywhere. Multiple DJs playing on the beach. Fire Jump rope. A water slide onto the beach. Drug offerings by older thai men. Using the ocean as a urinal. Balloon games that rewarded you with.... A BUCKET! It was clearly going to be an interesting night.
After sharing 6 buckets, 6 hours of dancing and meeting people*, testing out the water slide, playing drink while you think sitting on the wet sand and a quick separation of our group, we all boarded our taxi back to Haad Salad together and we were in bed by 6am. There are many stories of FMP goers getting roofied, robbed, beat up, or overdosing. For us it was: Full Moon Party success! We were safe and sound.

The next afternoon, when we awakened, it was a day of staring and massage. About 3 hours of staring into space and another 3 hours at the massage parlor right on Haad Salad beach getting nearly everything on their menu of offerings. This would be our last night on the island so dinner at our spot would NEED to be epic... And it was. We all ordered our favorites and feasted.

The next morning I awakened and went to Haad Salad Beach and was greeted by the smile of MamaThai #2. "Want some tea?," she asked. Certainly! I sipped on a fresh ginger tea as I watched the waves roll in. At the beginning of our time on Haad Salad we had met a nice Swedish Family: Gustav, Maria and their kids Bianca (infant) and Fabian (3). We continuously ran into them around the beach and it was a nice constant that made it feel like home. As I sit there, I was glad to run into them again to say good bye. I returned to our bungalow, we ate breakfast and then we were off again: a 24-hour travel day ahead of us on boat (which was extremely choppy) , on bus and an overnight sleeper train to Bangkok.
Returning to Bangkok Jason and Rusty were en route to Hong Kong to collect the rest of Jason's belongings from his time there for semester abroad then to California, Tammy was heading back to Los Angeles and me... Well, I was not sure yet. I knew a couple things, I need to get my iPhone, I want to go to Burma and I can also go to Chiang Mai. Upon returning to Rambutrri House to get some things I left behind, I discover that Toi (tour operator from Kanchanaburi) decided to not send my iPhone to the guest house since I had checked out and kept it with her. I had no choice but to return to Kanchanaburi on mini van and collect my phone.

P.s. I am currently writing this as I sit in the Myanmar embassy. I crashed the "visa pick-up" line in hopes that I can sneak in and get approved and have the visa on my person already, while I travel to Chiang Mai. Generally, you have to show up at 9am apply for a visa, pay and then come back to pick up the approved visa at 330 pm. Odds for me are looking good, since they have already taken my payment! :)


*according to Jason and Tammy, they observed that I was meeting new people all over: on bus, on train, at FMP, etc. As a result they would chuckle each time I met a new person and say "Hi, I'm Javier. What's your name?" as if that were my greeting to everyone I came across. I like meeting people. It comes easy and I hope that the remainder of my trip I continue to do the same. Sawatdee Krap!

** all my photos from this part of the trip are on my point and shoot and I do not have the cord to transfer photos to my computer. Perhaps I can borrow one from a fellow traveler in the near future, but in the mean time- use your imagination :)

First Couple Days in Thailand

Quick swim in the Erwan Waterfall in Konchanaburri

I arrived into Bangkok and (again) since I had no place to stay I found myself wandering Th Kao San area looking for a place to stay. KS is definitely an interesting place. Think of Del Playa Road in Isla Vista on Halloween, all the time. Backpacker mecca crowded with 20 somethings from all over the world looking to get drunk, buy cheap street food and get lost in the haze of Bangkok. A classy, classy place. Since the guide book that I have is about 10 years old, apparently some of the places in there are no longer in existence. Surprise. Eventually I stumbled upon Rambutrri House on one of the side streets in the area: a gem and pretty cheap. By this point it was about 3:30 a.m. and I had the decision to make: go out or sleep. I went out and people watched for a bit as well as tried to look for accommodation for Thursday night when Jason, Rusty and Tammy would be in town, but quickly found myself getting tired and headed back to my spot for the night.


The next morning I had a quick bite at a little cafe and then I went in search of transport to Konchanaburi, which my friend Paul Lynch highly recommended. Since most travel agencies in guest houses operate their own tours, departure times were limited and I wanted to leave ASAP to maximize my time. Wandering around a bit, I found a mini-van service that Thai people use as a commuter service and off I was- the only non-Thai person on this little van in hopes that where I ended up was indeed Konchanaburi. The ride there was... interesting. The landscape heading out of Bangkok was lovely. Once out of the city, it was filled with sugar cane fields, road side agriculture businesses, mechanics and gasoline stations. It reminded me a bit of driving from Guadalajara, Mexico to El Grullo, the town where my dad is from. It felt comfortable. The driver had a foot of steel. He must have been going well over 100 mph, and I'm pretty sure that one of the ladies in the van (somewhere in the vicinity of 80 years old) nearly had a heart attack after hitting a pot hole at that speed. She yelled something in Thai, which I interpreted as "Oh my god!!" About two hours later, I was dropped off at the bus station in the little town of Konchanaburri, hopped on a motorcycle taxi, held on for dear life as I rode without a helmet and was dropped of near the river Kwai to go in search of a bed.

Train ride along the Death Railway

Historically this area of Thailand is very heavy with World War II scars- as this is where the Imperial Japanese Army was hard at work with the building of the Death Railway to Myanmar (Burma) which would enable the Japanese another supply route in their conquest of Myanmar and other Asian countries west. It is estimated that about 16,000 POWs died while building the railway as the Japanese were eager to get the railway done quickly and were working the POWs very hard. Amidst this sad historical context of the area, I was eager to explore further and pay tribute to the history.


Walking down the road I ran into Toi's Tours, where I was enticed to book my trip to the Erwan Waterfall (the reason I came to this town) which also included a visit to an elephant camp, a ride on a bamboo raft down the river Kwai, a train ride along the country side in the Konchanaburi province and a stop at the famous Bridge on the River Kwai. Toi is a nice Thai lady that was helping a french couple before me and she was speaking french quite well, I thought to myself "great, I can also practice my spotty French while in Thailand"- and that I did. I had read in my guide book about Blue Star Guest House which has tree houses and I was curious to see them. Toi agreed that this particular guest house was a good one and that I should definitely see if there was rooms available there. After checking them out, I was sold. The tree house was more so a house on stilts over the river, with the lovely sound of frogs, crickets, boats and the feeling of the outdoors, including mosquitoes. After signing paperwork, I ordered a tall Singha from the front desk and my intention was to drink it and head out and walk around town, but then I remembered that I was there ALONE and I could do whatever the hell I wanted to do and at that moment I just wanted to sit and take in the environment of my home for the day, and that I did. It was quite warm out so I took my shirt off, sprayed myself with mosquito spray, sat on the deck of my tree house, drank my beer and that is it! It felt good and this moment made me feel like I was on vacation, as opposed to the constant on the go I had been doing to date.


After I finished my respite, I went for a walk and stumbled across "Thai Massage" and boy was I ready for the first of (hopefully) many massages during my trip. I walk in and a very petite Thai lady greeted me with a hot tea. There was another foreigner in there getting a massage already. While I wait she gets on the phone and then comes back over to give me a foot bath. Right as my foot bath is wrapping up, another more robust Thai woman rides up on her scooter to the parlor and walks towards the back of the store. The petite woman signals for me to go back and at this point it clicked: petite thai called robust thai to come give me a massage since I, of course, am a bigger guy. The massage was AWESOME. It is said that you'll never forget your first and I sure wont. After the massage I walked for about 30 minutes across town to the nightly market by the train station. This would be dinner and I made a 4-course meal out of it. Walking up and down the aisles of food stands I came across, amongst many other thai eats: mini chicken croquettes, a chicken, pork, crab spring roll, vegetable pad thai, thai papaya salad, and a thai coffee. All for just about $5. I took my dinner, each in its own little box or plastic baggie, to the steps of a fountain nearby and I feasted... and also broke a sweat from the hot sauce that came with the spring rolls.



The next morning I awakened at 6 a.m. after nearly a 10-hour sleep (I was exhausted, and my internal clock was still off a bit). I remembered waking up frequently to fight off the mosquitoes that apparently love my blood, not just in Thailand, but everywhere around the world. Those darn little bugs! Lucky for me, the bug spray I got my hands on was 95% deet, which I'm sure is not good for me, but I also don't want to catch something that I can prevent: i.e. malaria. My tour guide Dao picked me up at 8 a.m. in a van full of other travelers and off we were to our adventure. We drove about 1 hour and arrived at the Erwan Waterfall. This fall has 7 levels and before I saw it, I was thinking, "Yes, just like Seven Falls in Santa Barbara. This will be great." Lucky for me I think Erwan is much more beautiful and more grandiose. The group was let off to explore the falls on our own with 2.5 hours before we had to return. I hiked up with a few others in my group to the 4th fall, where many of us went for a quick swim. The water was nice and refreshing and the fish in the swimming hole created by the fall were also on a mission: to nibble on your feet! My coworker Tara at Orfalea had suggested getting the fish massage, which little fish eat the dead skin on your feet in a small bucket. This was a whole little pond of fish that would come after your feet if you stood still for too long. After the first couple of times the fishies got a fill, I was not willing to continue experiencing the feeling so I made sure to practice my eggbeaters as I was swimming.


I took off from fall #4 and quickly made my way up to the top as I wanted to make sure I got to check it out, after all when would I be back and I only had about 60 minutes before I had to be back at the meeting spot. I made it my intention to run to the top, best as I could, that way it would double up as a bit of exercise as well. It was a very scenic view and the waterfall here, although much less water than falls 3 and 4, had a humble presence. People were scaling the rocks to get higher up than the trail allows, but with my limited time, and since I get afraid of heights sometimes, I decided to race back down after a few photos. After about 30 minutes of jogging back down the trail I made it to fall 3, which I had not jumped in before. This was massive. It was a big curtain of water that engulfed your whole person when you stood under it and doubled as a massage if you stood at the right angle. It felt great!


We carried on with the tour of the area: did a quick elephant ride (which I felt badly for because me and my partner got the smaller one and we were the heavier of the pairs), drifted on a bamboo raft down the Kwai river which was led by two young boys who were giggling at my practice of the Thai language in asking them what their names were and if we could fish in the river, and my favorite of the entire tour was the train ride for 4 stops along the death railway, which nearly none of is original anymore, except for a few parts of the bridge on the river kwai. This train ride was full of Thai commuters, mainly students who were headed back home after class, and tourists taking the 4-stop ride. The train traveled right through rows and rows of papaya trees and sugar cane, beat up shacks along the tracks and a crisp cool breeze. I decided my seat would be the steps to board the train so that I can have a front row seat to everything that we were passing, hoping that I would not fall out or something, but I made it off safe and invigorated.




As soon as we returned to Konchanaburi, I went back to Blue Star had a tall Singha and rested for a little bit in the common area. I made my way back to Toi's Tours to have her book my way back to Bangkok, in a mini van, again. She made a few calls and had me ready to go within half an hour. I asked if I could charge my phone there while the mini van service arrived as it was pretty close to dead. In the meantime I went in search for something to eat and I found a Pad Thai street stand about a 10 minute walk from Toi's. I was in, and just then Toi pulled up on her motor bike as this was where she also frequented for her dinner, awesome- and it was only 25 Baht ($.85). She offered to give me a lift on her bike and so I took it. I ate my pad thai super quickly, as if I had not eaten in months (it was that good!) and then read my guide book. The mini van pulls up and the driver is super startled as he is blocking traffic and is late for his next pick-up, a pudgy dark Thai man. I hop on the mini-van and off we go. Half way to the next stop (about a 10 minute drive) I realize: MY PHONE IS STILL ON THE CHARGER AT TOIS!! Crap, what will I do without my phone. I stand and reach over to the driver to let him know that my phone is with Toi and that I need to get it. He does not understand what I am saying and just says "Sit, sit!". I figured he heard me and just wanted me to sit, as he soon gets on the phone and speaks to someone. We go to another pick-up and I thought, maybe he called Toi and she is going to meet us here on her motor bike. After all she is a very nice lady. She is not at the next stop. I mention again to the driver that Toi has my phone and he just keeps on driving. By this point I realize that he is not going back and has no idea what I mentioned to him, or chose not to understand as his foot is also made of steel and we are well on our way to Bangkok. I conform. This is all part of the adventure and my stressed-state turns from frustration and anger to ease and acceptance. It was my own fault.


Upon arrival to Bangkok, I walk back to Rambutrri House as that is where I had left my large back pack and I was hoping that the 4-person room was open so that Jason, Rusty, Tammy and I can stay there for that night. Surely it was and I book it, go up to the room and call Toi through Skype. She offers to have my iPhone sent over to Rambutrri House the next morning with one of the mini-vans. Since I would be leaving for the islands at 6 a.m. the front desk would hold my phone. I just hope that it is indeed there upon my return from Ko Phangan, and if not... its not the end of the world. My travels will continue!


p.s. since many of my photos are on my iPhone, I will try and post more pictures later. You can also view some here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100556136060707.2727128.3605624&type=1&l=24007cf43b

Lost in Translation- Japan

After a long fidgety flight from LAX to Tokyo- I finally arrived at Haneda airport for my 1 day Japan layover. In doing my research a bit before hand I knew that this airport was the closer of the 2 in Tokyo, and that the transit system shuts after a certain time, which meant I needed to
get my bags quick (since they were not checked through to my final destination) and find my way to the train to get to Atsuri- the suburb of Tokyo where i would be couch surfing. I arrived and was ready to purchase my fare by 11 pm. I was safe- or so I thought. This was just the beginning of my adventure in Japan.


Most Everyone knows that I do not speak Japanese and,aside from the 3 phrases I already know asking for money and food- I even forgot the words for thank you, hello and good bye. I walk up to the ticketing area for the ever so efficient Tokyo public transport- I DO NOT READ JAPANESE either and everything is in Japanese characters... Lucky for me there was a lady there that spoke some spotty English and helped me out. I make it on the train en route to Atsuri and I have 3 train changes to get to my destination with an anticipated 82 minute commute. I'm following along making sure I do not miss any of my stops, but before I know it I am well past my first transfer- crap! I ask a guy on the train if I have indeed gone wrong and his English is not good either. I then remember that I downloaded an app on my phone that has some key phrases and translates them for you.... I find a few things that get my point across and I discover that I need to go back. BUT, remember the trains close down.... Yup! I go one stop to the middle of nowhere and before I know it I am standing in a taxi line trying to explain my situation and deciding if I should still go couch surf, or look for another accommodation option, including going to airport and sleeping there for a bit. Mind you it was about 35 degrees outside and the majority of the clothes i brought is for Thai weather: 95 degrees!! back to the taxi line: Most of the taxi drivers did not know what I was asking and my app didn't have the right phrases. I was in a rut.



Then a young couple walk up and they speak "a little" English. I share my situation and they start brain storming where I might be able to stay: a restaurant that has beds, a karaoke bar that has beds or Hotel Nice. I didn't want to spend a crap load- but I also wanted to get somewhere. They call the hotel and voila they have space. We flag a cab down, they tell him where to go for me and I realize that I spent most of the yen I withdrew on my first train ticket.... DOH! I hop on the cab anyway- in hopes that the nice man would let me slide or we would go by an ATM. Once I see the meter at nearly 4x the amount of yen I had- I asked him to pull over at the next ATM- safe!

We arrive at Hotel Nice and the cabbie Walks me in to "share my story" and check me in- nice old man. I now have a room in what looks like a lonely hotel in a residential area (which surprisingly reminded me Of some places in London- maybe because of the wrong side of the road driving?). The woman at the front would not even pull the blind up far enough for me to see her face when I paid- strange. I make my way up to room and I'm greeted by slippers at the first door, a comforter that has "nice" stitched into it, karaoke in the room with a 5" binder full of songs (all in Japanese), and condoms w lube on the night stand. Huh???!! It then clicked- I was staying at hotel "for a good time come here for one night"- fortunately it smelled and looked clean, after a thorough inspection of the room. At that point it was time for bed, I could not be bothered anymore.




I awakened to discomfort and not being able to breathe well- it smelled as if someone was blowing cigarette smoke into my face. It was only 3am. This happened at least 3 more times when finally at 645am I opened the window to let in some fresh, COLD air from outside and got up to start my day- and really, so I can vacate the room as soon as I was able. I was not sure where exactly I was but my iPhone did. I unlocked the power to search the Internet while roaming and mapped out my day. It included a visit through the sights, food and shopping of the Ueno neighborhood. I found some red bean curd pastries (which were introduced to me by Sumi at the Japanese pastry shop in NYC), Some fresh made pork pastries in the street market, a hole in the wall Sushi spot, and oolong tea at " the coffee house". I cleansed my mind and spirit with some incense at a temple in the Ueno park ad. Had a nice stroll. I know I only got a nibble of Japan during my 20 hours in the country- but I sure had an adventure. And this is only the beginning of my trip.


Arigato.

my way to speak Japanese

The incense I used to cleanse

Hanging out in Ueno Park