Hello, my name is Javier. What'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 :)

To the land of the Quechua

As many of you know, I decided to break tradition this year and spend the holidays away from my family and friends (except for Danny and Pam) and travel to Peru for 18 days for both Christmas and New Years. This being a life-long goal, or at least since I started discovering travel and knew what Peru had to offer and since opportunity knocked, I opened the door with arms wide open. Not to mention that I would be traveling with two of my closest friends, one of which was kind enough to open the comfort and sincerity of her family to us and introduce us to her family in Peru... THANK YOU PAM!

Initially I did not know what to think or expect, but once I arrived in Lima for the first 4 days of the trip, I started t resonate a lot with my living in Guadalajara. The city is very similar and the area that we were "living" in with our adoptive grandparents for the trip reminded me alot of walking around many parts of Mexico. The people, the food, the authenticity and the comfort that a different pace of life brings were all a few of the things that made me feel like it was a place I could remain at for ages from the get go. We spent Christmas eve enjoying a wonderful home-made Peruvian meal with an amazing rice dish that we had to get the recipe for. Although there were no pinatas, posadas nor tamales, welcoming Chirstmas in a different style was great, although I did miss my gramas tamales. The next couple of days in Lima were spent visisting the local market and seeing what we could find to see and/or eat; picarones (donut like fried dough with syrup), cebiche (peruvian style with sweet potato and seaweed), tortas (aka cake, not big mexican sandwiches and random fresh fruit and helado (always room for some ice cream)!



Next stop was Cusco for one night before starting the Inca Trail. The one thing that stuck for the first Cusco night was a headache. The slight change in altitude to 3800 meters from sea level caused a bit of a lingering pain in the temple area as well as slight drowsiness and blurry vision. Luckily, Coca Tea was readily available- we were welcomed by one cup of tea when checking in, of course I had about 6 and then had to pee every 5 minutes.. and I was able to bring some back home with me.


The 4 day hike on the Inca Trail was nothing short of amazing. Not only do I generally enjoy the outdoors, history and meeting people, but I was also very pleased with the opportunity to reflect on life in the comfort of nature. With the guidance of the Pacha Mama ( Mother Earth in Quechua) I made it up to 4200 meters in altitude after 2 days of rain with a fatigued knee and a 20lb back pack to the enlightening city of Machu Picchu. It was surreal. Even before arriving to Machu Picchu being in between massive peaks that make up the Andes and standing ABOVE the clouds (this doesn't happen unless I'm on a plane) was a beauty, but standing at the Puerta del Sol overlooking the Incan City of Machu Picchu was a revelation. You take it in and look at it and it still seems unreal, especially after hiking 44km.



After Machu Pichu we take a train back to Cusco and its time to celebrate New Years. We take a shower (after 5 days of not doing so, it felt damn good- although my own scent, and the scent of others, was starting to grow on me, LITERALLY) I also didn't shave for 1 week prior to departing for Peru and I didnt take a razor with me on the trip... Dinner was so memorable. We were thinking a nice sit down dinner, something to bring in the new year, but after turning left out of our hotel and onto the rainy streets, we were greeted by an abundance of street vendors selling "sanguiches" and "anticuchos" (cow heart skewers) we ate a lot of them and were pleasantly plump!


The night proceeded to celebrate new years with some of the friends we made during our hike. Meeting point: The golden Arches- McD's (yuck), but a landmark nonetheless. After polishing off a Camelback full of Vodka Redbull, a few beers and 2L bottle full of rum and coke (this was amongst a few of us), we were definitely welcoming the new year staying up until 4am. there is a tradition in Cusco in celebrating the new year where you RUN around the town square 12 times with empty luggage for good luck in travels in the coming year, sounded appealing and we tried. Except for the 1000's of people trying to do the same so the run was more of a wander and so we did one lap and counted that as 12. hope its not only January that I am given good luck for, otherwise I gotta get traveling....


2 days later we were off to Lake Titicaca. This was amazing. seeing a different way of life in modern society that wants nothing more than to continue living life like they do. On floating islands made of reed. eating mainly fish and only solar powered electricity operating the bare minimum. while on the island we got a break down of their day to day lives and got to tour in their "Mercedes" of transportation, a large reed boat with 2 levels. In this region of Peru we were meant to try Guinea Pig, but we failed.. it was raining and wandering around the streets of Puno wasnt the most recommended thing to do according to Lonely Planet.



After the islands we head back to Lima for the last leg of our trip. It was a lot of winding down, but also trying to eat all of the Peruvian eats that were on the list that we created. I am proud to say that we ate nearly all of the typical Peruvian dishes and eats that there are... a lot of thanks to Pam's Grama, a great cook she is. While back in Peru we did a bit of shopping and spent some time on the roads of the city. If you think the 405 is bad or driving in Tijuana or Manhattan is bad, go drive in Lima. This is definitely the place for a driver with a big, stubborn ego... "I own the road" is the mentality that the 8 million people in the city have. Interesting experience.

Upon return to the states, it had not set in that I had just traveled to a revered place of the world. One of the 7 new wonders of the world. a place that many people will never see. a country rich in culture, food and topographical beauty. I had visited Peru and was excited that I would be able to share my experience with others. Equally as much as I enjoy hearing stories of friends and family who travel to new and unknown places, I wanted to share and will continue to do so as long as the memories are fresh. If any of you are considering a trip to south america, do not leave Peru out of your plans. You will not regret visiting a beautiful country with great things to offer. Now, where to next?